Greece, Turkey and Spain are the destinations that generate over 30% of travel agencies' turnover. The three countries also dominate in terms of growth pace, with players in the field expecting demand for these destinations to rise by as much as 40%.
The short time needed to reach the destination, the high-quality services and their low price compared with the domestic travel offer are going to make around 1.5 million Romanians choose Greece, Turkey or Spain as a holiday destination this year.
"This year, I believe around 32% of estimated turnover will come from holidays sold for these three destinations. Compared with last year, I believe demand will be 30-40% higher especially due to the very good quality/price ratio," says Cristina Irimia, marketing manager with J'Info Tours.
The company reached 29m-euro turnover in 2007 and projects a 25% growth pace for this year. Given these estimates, the agency's revenues from the sale of holiday packages for these destinations will hit some 12m euros this year.
Paralela 45 registered 40m-euro turnover last year, up 30% from 2006 and expects to reach turnover worth 45m euros this year.
Paralela 45 ranks second on the domestic market in terms of turnover, behind leader Happy Tour.
"We expect a 20% increase (in terms of holiday packages i.e.), primarily owning to the rising overall travel demand for these destinations. Secondly, the estimate is also based on the contracting of some high-capacity aircraft," explains Elena Anghel, a coordinating manager with the travel agency.
Besides the three destinations, confirmed as boasting the biggest growth potential by the National Association of Travel Agencies of Romania (ANAT) as well, some agencies have started counting on other destinations such as Portugal.
"These destinations are preferred for several reasons, such as closeness to Romania, the good services, the various possibilities of spending after-sun time, the Mediterranean and not least the affordable rates," says Claudia Stan, a marketing manager with Aerotravel Lufthansa City Center.
According to her, around half of leisure segment revenues will come from Greece, Turkey and Portugal.
According to ANAT data, over 300,000 Romanians will head for Greece to spend their summer holidays this year, while the number of Romanians choosing Bulgaria will stagnate at 250,000 people.
The number of Romanians leaving for Turkey will revolve around 100,000, while Spain will attract around 35,000 Romanians, a level similar to the number of tourists choosing Tunisia.
Romanians' rising purchasing power produced a major shift in consumption habits. Demand also rose amid the diversification of travel agencies' product portfolios.
Travel data
2007 was the second consecutive year when the sums foreigners spent on holidays in Romania were smaller than the ones Romanians chose to spend on holidays abroad
Travel revenues reached 1.068bn euros, 34 million euros more than in 2006
Romanians spent 1.1bn euros on holidays abroad, 66m euros more than ins 2006
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