Romanians now booking holidays six months in advance

Most Romanian tourists now book a holiday three to six months in advance in order to get the early bird discounts, and buy up to three holidays a year. Five years ago, Romanians would book their holiday a short while ahead of the departure date and opted for one holiday a year in the peak summer season.

The changes in Romanians’ consumption behaviour led to a doubling of the turnovers of the main local travel agencies in the past five years. “I booked a one-week summer holiday in Santorini in early March. I paid 390 euros, 20% less than I would have paid had I bought this holiday after the end of the early booking programme, i.e. after the end of March,” said Viorica Gavrilov from Tulcea.
On the other hand, representatives of travel agencies say planning the holiday three to six months in advance was not a habit for Romanian holiday consumers five years ago. “But now we are on the right track, Romanians are looking out for early booking opportunities more than before,” said Antonio Nițu, general manager of travel agency Aerotravel Lufthansa City Center. Travel agencies sell holiday packages for the summer season at an up to 30% discount, if booked until the end of April at the latest.