Hanover, 29 November 2019

Off to the sunshine and opting to repeat holidays

  • European holidaymakers’ favourite holiday destinations in Winter 2019/20
  • The Canary Islands is the most favourite holiday region for TUI-guests in the winter season 
  • Strong comeback of Egypt continues

The Canaries, Thailand and Egypt: this Winter, European holidaymakers prefer to repeat holidays, opting to return to a previous destination. This is a finding of the TUI Holiday Atlas Winter 2019/20, featuring European holidaymakers’ favourite destinations in the current winter season. Gran Canaria ranks first as the number one travel destination, with Tenerife and Lanzarote ranking among the top five, alongside Phuket in Thailand and Hurghada in Egypt. TUI customers thus prefer returning to the same destinations as in the previous 2018/19 winter season.

Around 27 million guests travel to more than 100 destinations with TUI each year. The TUI Holiday Atlas also provides an overview of country-specific preferences. Fuerteventura remains the top destination among German holidaymakers, followed by Hurghada in Egypt, Las Palmas, Tenerife, and Phuket in Thailand. By contrast, French holidaymakers have chosen Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic as their top destination this time. British, Irish and Belgian holidaymakers continue to prefer visiting Tenerife. And as in prior years, Gran Canaria remains the favourite travel destination among Finnish, Danish, Norwegian and Swedish holidaymakers, while Polish travellers are most likely to travel to Antalya in Turkey. However, the top five destinations of Polish holidaymakers now also include the Egyptian beach resorts Hurghada and Marsa Alam as well as Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic. Austrian and Swiss holidaymakers also like travelling to more remote destinations. Austrian holidaymakers’ top destination for a sun and beach holiday is the Maldives, while Swiss customers prefer Phuket. Dutch travellers are also keen to go on a long-haul trip – their absolute dream destination during the cold season is Curaçao, a Lesser Antilles island.

The latest TUI Holiday Atlas shows that the Canaries remain the number one travel destination among TUI customers this Winter. Egypt has confirmed the comeback it made in last year’s Winter season: nearly all Europeans clearly favour sunshine destinations, the only exception being Dutch, Austrian and German holidaymakers who are also likely to visit Austria as a Winter hideaway.

About TUI Group

TUI Group is a leading global tourism group and operates worldwide. The Group is headquartered in Germany. TUI shares are listed on the FTSE 250, an index of the London Stock Exchange, on the regulated market of the Hanover Stock Exchange and on the Open Market segment of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. The TUI Group offers integrated services from a single source for its 19 million customers.

The entire tourism value chain is covered under one roof. This includes over 400 hotels and resorts with premium brands such as RIU, TUI Blue and Robinson and 16 cruise ships, from the MS Europa and the MS Europa 2 in the luxury class and expedition ships to the Mein Schiff fleet of TUI Cruises and cruise ships at Marella Cruises in Great Britain. The Group also includes leading tour operator brands and online marketing platforms across Europe, five airlines with more than 130 modern medium and long-haul aircraft and around 1,200 travel agencies. In addition to expanding its core business with hotels, cruises via successful joint ventures and activities in holiday destinations, TUI is increasingly focusing on the expansion of digital platforms. The Group is transforming itself into a digital company.

Global responsibility for sustainable economic, ecological and social action is at the core of our corporate culture. The TUI Care Foundation, initiated by TUI, focuses on the positive effects of tourism, on education and training and on strengthening environmental and social standards with projects in 25 countries. It thus supports holiday destinations in their development.