It's time for travel news again! It was a long time ago. We have taken a break during the summer motorhome trip in Sweden, but now we are home again and back in everyday life. Of course, we will do more travelling, but we also have to hold down the fort at home from time to time! Here is this week's selection of news from the travel industry.
Table of contents
Viking Line has released autumn cruise tickets
On 5 August 2020, Viking Line released the tickets for the autumn Baltic Sea cruises with Viking Cinderella. The cruises depart every Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 20 August. Even shorter archipelago trips during the day can be made with the ship Rosella. On board, everything from the Swedish National Culinary Team's gourmet meals and shopping to stand-up, acoustic artist performances and private dance classes for individual couples with Tony Erving.
Motorhome, caravan and boat hot on the block
One way to finance summer fun is to sell things second-hand. The fastest selling items on Blocket now (July 2020) are refrigerators and freezers, kayaks/canoes, bicycles, gardening equipment and washing machines and tumble dryers. Here is the top list of what is most searched for on Blocket (July 2020):
- Dog
- Cars
- Motorhome
- Boat
- Caravan
78 % wants to travel despite COVID-19
The ferry company Stena Line has asked customers across Europe about their attitudes to travel and choice of travel mode in the wake of COVID-19. With 84,309 responses from 11 countries, the trend is clear: 78 per cent want to continue travelling as much as before, or more, despite COVID-19. The same figure applies to the 17,972 Swedish respondents. The most popular destinations for Swedes, according to the survey, are Germany (34 %), Denmark (22 %) and Poland (14 %). Southern Europe is also attractive.
Canary Islands insure infected tourists
The Canary Islands want their income-generating tourists back. The regional government has now signed an insurance policy to cover the cost of tourists who contract the coronavirus while on holiday in the islands. All tourists who test positive for COVID-19 during their stay in the Canary Islands - unless they were aware of the infection before travelling - will have access to free medical care, repatriation and accommodation if quarantine is required. Tourism accounts for around 35% of the Canary Islands' economy, and the economy has been hit hard by the drop in tourism due to the pandemic.
Airport bus services are now being expanded
On Friday 7 August, Flygbussarna expanded its traffic to Arlanda and Landvetter. The expansion of the service is a natural step as there has been an increase in flights in both Stockholm and Gothenburg. Every 20 minutes an airport bus will run between Stockholm and Arlanda and every 30 minutes an airport bus will run between Gothenburg and Landvetter. The decision by the airport buses to increase the number of journeys is partly about meeting greater demand and partly about taking responsibility for avoiding the spread of infection in crowded buses.
Reflection of the week
We understand that motorhomes are hot - and that's been evident on the roads this summer. We're also not surprised that people want to travel. Perhaps some people still want to travel in a slightly different, or more cautious, way.
Did you miss the last travel news? Read the Camping, travelling abroad and Birka Cruises stop cruising
Goatfish says:
Camping has increased among Swedes. I saw this clearly the day before yesterday when I cycled around the Krono campsite in Lidköping. Full of motorhomes, caravans and even tents. No foreign guests at all. Full on one beach (but still not crowded) and a queue for the coveted pool area. They opened up in the end and now have guards who check and count bathers there, so it works fine.
I would never go on a boat, or a plane. Don't even travel by train and bus anymore. Electric bikes 😀.
10 August 2020 - 11:57
Monet says:
According to reports from friends and acquaintances who have houses in France and who this spring and summer have driven a car back and forth from various places in southern Europe to and from Sweden, motorhomes are extremely rare on the roads. In general, traffic is much less frequent than normal, with the exception of the weekends when the French change holiday homes.
They are also on holiday at home, which means that all the tourist resorts, beaches, restaurants, etc. are packed. Despite restrictions and the obligation to wear masks, infection rates are rising again in Spain, Germany and France. Of course! Just as it will do after the holidays here in Sweden as well. In France, mandatory face masks are now being introduced in most of central Paris, Nice, Marseille and several other major cities.
10 August 2020 - 17:54
BP says:
Yes, if you want to swim and keep your distance, a motorhome is the ideal solution. I did not know that you can sell dogs on Blocket... I have noticed in our area here that the number of dogs has increased significantly since last spring. Just hope that the owners do not get tired of the dogs when the pandemic is over at some point.
10 August 2020 - 20:47
Lena - good for the soul says:
I am a bit surprised that so many people have said they are willing to travel as before. Perhaps they are referring to travelling when Covid19 "settles down".
Looking forward to the next trip to Kiel. Even if we could go now, we choose to wait a bit, for safety's sake. Above all, we do not want the 80+ in-laws to be infected.
Hug Lena
13 August 2020 - 21:34