Those wishing to spend Ligo abroad should hurry: most tourist trips for the holiday weekend are already sold out. The highest demand is for Turkey, Greece, Italy, Spain, and Cyprus, with very few seats remaining.
These trips are almost completely sold out, tour operators surveyed by the LETA agency reported.
According to Liana Pudule-Indane, head of the sales department at the Latvian tour operator Novatours, there are only a few seats left on flights to Montenegro, Bulgaria, and Turkey for the holiday weekend.
She noted that there is no single undisputed leader among the most popular destinations. Latvian tourists are actively choosing the Greek islands of Corfu and Crete, resorts in Spain near Barcelona and Malaga, as well as Cyprus.
Pudule-Indane emphasized that destinations in the Middle East are traditionally more in demand in winter, so the current tense situation in the region has had little effect on the demand for summer trips. However, there is a noticeable increase in travel prices due to the rising cost of aviation fuel.
According to her, travelers have become a bit more careful in choosing trips, but overall, the sales volume of summer tours at Novatours remains at last year's level.
Rolands Birgelis, chairman of the board of the tour operator Tez Tour, also reported that the demand for trips during the Jāņi holidays this year has been very high.
He stated that almost all tours from June 20 to 27 are already sold out. There are still a few spots available for programs in Calabria (Italy) and the Peloponnese in Greece, but their number is extremely limited.
Among the most popular destinations, Birgelis mentioned Antalya in Turkey, Burgas in Bulgaria, Heraklion, Rhodes, Corfu, and the Peloponnese in Greece, Calabria in Italy, as well as resorts in Spain, Georgia, and Cyprus.
The demand for vacations in Turkey remains particularly high. All flights to Antalya during the holidays are already fully booked.
At the same time, Tez Tour has not recorded a noticeable decrease in interest in travel due to events in the Middle East.
According to data from Firmas.lv, Tez Tour's turnover last year was €31.77 million, which is 16.2% less than the previous year. The company's profit decreased several times to €186,866.
Meanwhile, the Novaturas group, which includes the Latvian Novatours, reportedly finished last year with a turnover of €168 million. This is 16.1% less than the previous year's figure. The group's net losses amounted to €1.2 million.
Despite rising prices and the unstable situation in certain regions of the world, Latvians' interest in foreign vacations remains high. Judging by the almost completely sold-out tours for the Jāņi days, many residents of the country preferred to celebrate the main summer holiday not at home, but at sunny resorts in the Mediterranean.
