It’s no secret - the people of the Netherlands are dying to get away. Up and down the country, people eagerly waited to hear the Dutch government’s travel advice for this summer, eager to know whether they’d be able to hop on a plane and fly somewhere warm and sunny for two weeks, or if they’d finally be able to go home and visit friends and family.
This impatience became clear as soon as Health Minister Hugo de Jonge announced that some countries in Europe would be deemed “safe” for travel this summer, as travel agencies and airlines marked a sudden spike in the number of visitors to their websites. The bad news is that, as the travel industry has been at a complete standstill since last March, now that people can travel again prices are climbing - and they’re climbing quickly.
According to holiday booking site Zoover, the cost of a package holiday has increased by 10 percent over the past few days, with the average person paying 165 euros more for a holiday than they would have a few weeks ago.
Comparing prices at a number of travel agencies, including Tui and Corendon, the high demand mixed with comparatively low supply means prices are climbing, and Zoover noted that companies adjust their prices several times a day.
Holidays to Portugal marked the most significant increase, with average prices rising from 1.300 euros to 2.100 euros in the space of only a few days. Spain, on the other hand, has experienced the least increase (less than 1 percent), while the cost of a holiday to Greece has risen by around 5 percent.
As summer approaches and demand continues to rise, Zoover expects the cost of flights to rise too. However, Zoover director Judith Eyck hopes travel agencies won’t increase prices too much in order to guarantee customer bookings.