TUI UK has launched winter 2021 and 2022 holidays from Aberdeen Airport and is set to put summer 2022 holidays on sale from 5th November.
This includes thousands of free kids’ places, low deposits from £75 per person and £0 deposit on direct debit bookings made online on offer.
This comes as 86% of customers surveyed in September said they expect to have gone on holiday again by next summer - reinforcing the growing appetite for future travel post Covid-19.
With on-going travel corridor uncertainty for some regular favourites this winter, those craving sunshine during the coldest months have already booked for next winter, with strong demand for Tenerife so far from Aberdeen Airport. The winter 2021/22 programme will see two weekly flights to Tenerife and will also connect with five Marella Cruises itineraries, including Canarian Flavours, Colourful Coasts and Island Explorer.
With 57% of customers saying they expect to book a Mediterranean beach holiday for 2021, TUI anticipates greater demand for summer 2022 as people want to ‘make up’ for not being able to go away this year. So far, Greece is the standout destination of choice based on current bookings for next summer, with Turkey and Egypt also popular, and patterns indicate these trends could continue into 2022.
The summer 2022 programme from Aberdeen Airport will see seven destinations on offer, including Majorca, Costa Dorada, Tenerife, Greece and Turkey. TUI will operate three flights each week to Majorca and two weekly flights to Dalaman.
TUI is seeing an upward trend in 4 and 5-star all-inclusive hotel bookings for next summer, with over 40% of customers surveyed expressing this preference. This includes hotels which offer the ‘best of both worlds’ with villas or room options with private pools and accommodation as families in particular seek to continue to feel safe in their ‘bubble’. TUI will be offering 233 different options in 155 hotels for this growing category in summer 2021 and expects this trend to continue for summer 2022.
In the same vein, 18% of customers surveyed said they would look to book a villa holiday with car hire included, making social distancing easier on holiday. TUI is offering 150 villas with flights and car hire included for summer 2021 and summer 2022 in Cyprus, Greece, Turkey, Balearic Islands, Canary Islands, mainland Spain, Portugal, Italy and Florida.
Richard Sofer, Commercial & Business Development Director at TUI said: “Our latest customer survey and booking patterns for next summer indicate that the great British public are looking forward to future holidays even more so as they may have been unable to take one this year.
"This is why we have launched our future holiday programmes through to the end of October 2022, so that families and couples alike can plan ahead to next year and beyond to make informed choices about what will make their perfect holiday from the wide range we have on offer.”
Roger Hunt, interim managing director of Aberdeen International Airport, said: "We are in constant dialogue with our airline partners to ensure we support them with their restart plans.
“It was great to see TUI responding so quickly to the recent announcement from the Scottish Government to remove the Canaries from the quarantine list and in providing the people of the North East with the opportunity of much welcome winter sun with a new departure time of 9am.
“We also welcome TUI announcing its winter 2021 and summer 2022 schedules from Aberdeen International Airport to give our passengers a choice for their next holiday.”