News / How do we travel in times of recession?

How do we travel in times of recession?

2022-09-14 | Insights , News

Written by Ranveig Bråtveit, Schibsted Partnerstudio

Increased price levels mean that Norwegians have to put on their savings glasses. What consequences does this have for Norwegian tourism? Here is our insight into consumption, travel destinations and travel habits this autumn.

Autumn is here with price increases and interest rate hikes that have consequences for people's personal finances. In order to find out how this affects the population in general and the travel market in particular, we have carried out a population survey for the period 19-29. August. Here we take a look at Norwegians' outlook on the future, personal finances and future travel plans. We have also looked at the search habits of FINN travel.

And yes – consumer optimism has been falling since April and there are now just as many Norwegians who are pessimistic (29%) as optimistic (29%) regarding the household's finances. At the same time, more and more people state that they will spend less money on consumer goods and services in the next month.

High food prices, high electricity prices and rising interest rates are what increase the most on the worry scale, and will affect Norwegians' consumption this autumn.

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The holiday is the last thing to be cut

But when it comes to tourism, the trend is more encouraging. Because even if people save, the holiday is sacred. Perhaps we need this carrot even more now than before?

With the exception of the pandemic and the travel restrictions it brought about, we have previously seen that in crises holidays, experiences and savings are the last things to be cut from the family budget. On FINN Travel is the total traffic now godt above 2019 level - the last "normal" travel year - both on searches and unique users. While Norwegians spent an average of five minutes per session on FINN Traveling in 2021, they have spent an average of ten minutes so far this year. That's a growth of 100%!

39% of those who have been on holiday abroad this summer say that they dream of, or are already planning, their next trip abroad. It is predominantly the 18-49 age group (55%) who say this. Norway is still the most popular destination, godt followed by Spain, Greece, Turkey and Great Britain. In general, we are back in a travel pattern that we know from the time before the pandemic.

The large increase in searches and page views on FINN Travel may be due to the fact that Norwegians are more uncertain about where they will go on holiday, and therefore spend time searching and dreaming away. There is also a clear trend that Norwegians want to put together the holiday package themselves, and spend more time looking for the reasonable alternatives.

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Waiting longer to book the holiday

Where savings are made on holiday seems to be in how you travel, with shorter holidays and closer destinations. Many opened their eyes to Norway as a holiday destination during the pandemic, and Norway's popularity continued to rise even after the restrictions ended. In the population survey, 44% state that they have become more happy with Norwegian holidays, and Statistics Norway's recent travel survey shows that 2022 set a Norwegian record for domestic trips in a second quarter*.

However, people are waiting longer to book than before. In the population survey, 52% answered that they would spend less money on travel bookings further into the future, and 34% said they would wait to book a holiday in the autumn. 46% say they take their holiday more on the spur of the moment than before, while 30% state that they plan their holiday just as early, but book later than they usually do.

The insight from FINN supports these findings in that the majority of users have a short-term planning horizon, and search and book within the next three months.

From the population survey, we also see that 29% will make good use of holiday days in 2022 on holiday abroad, and 16% on holiday in Norway.

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And luckily not everyone is waiting to order. We see that bookings for 2023 are starting to come in, with the main emphasis on departures in the first quarter of 2023.

*source: travelnews.no

Travel guide of the month

 

 

 

Terje Berge

Commercial Director i FINN Travel

Which travel destinations do you have the most faith in for the autumn and in 2023?

- This autumn I have the most faith in Spain, but Thailand will also be exciting now that the restrictions are gone. It is rumored that Thai Airways will start flying directly from Oslo again. We look at ours data that Norwegians order very traditionally, so believe in the usual until next year, Spain, Greece, Croatia and not least Turkey, which has become so cheap because of the cheap currency.

Do you see that the economic challenges have any consequences for Norwegians' travel habits?

- Many in the travel industry are concerned that Norwegians will opt out of travel due to lower disposable income. But the summer holidays with the family are sacred and even in the financial crisis most people traveled to the South, so I choose to be positive.

What is your dream trip?

- Maui in Hawaii was probably the best trip ever. But I also like cruise vacations, whether in the Caribbean or elsewhere