Spanish tourists tend to plan their vacations at the last minute, but when we talk about the Christmas holidays, many of us choose to book ahead of time to avoid unpleasant surprises and, also, save a little money.
Many have already bought their flights to spend these holidays in places like London, Paris or New York, classics of the Spanish and European tourist market at this time, according to ‘Edreams’, the leading online travel agency in southern Europe.
The great offer of leisure and culture available to these three metropolises, increased during the Christmas holidays with markets and activities such as ice skating, is the greatest tourist attraction for these cities, which have broken the hegemonic trend marked by tourism of sun and beach in recent months.
Thanks to her, seven of the ten destinations preferred by Spaniards to spend Christmas are capitals such as London, Paris, New York or Berlin, located in the top four positions. In sixth position, a national destination sneaks in: Madrid; and Munich and Frankfurt complete the ranking of cities, in ninth and tenth position respectively.
Going to the beach at Christmas
Tenerife is the first beach destination on the list in fifth position followed by Gran Canaria and Palma Mallorca, in seventh and eighth place. Spending these family holidays in the sun continues to be an irresistible plan for many, who take advantage of the off-season to spend a different end of the year at cheaper prices.
“Christmas continues to be one of the key moments for Spanish tourism,” says Mauricio Prieto, co-founder and general director of Marketing at eDreams. However, “the global trend is to have vacations and leisure periods spread out more throughout the year,” he points out; which implies more frequent trips for shorter periods.
Low cost flights continue to be the most popular, although the airlines finally chosen to fly vary depending on the destination. easyJet is the most used by passengers to London, Paris and Berlin. Other companies in high demand at this time are Iberia, Lufthansa, British Airways, AirBerlin and Air Europa.