Vacation bookings are pouring in: - Norwegians seem to have the money

Over the past year, Norwegians’ wallets have been hit by high interest rates, higher electricity prices, inflation and large fluctuations in fuel prices.

But despite the lack of purchasing power among consumers, there is one thing Norwegians will not prioritize, and that is summer holidays.

– It was a big surprise for us

Terje Berge, commercial director at Finn Reise, tells Nettavisen that they’ve also noticed orders are going as normal.

– Over Christmas, only 4 percent of those who have booked a holiday in Finn have booked a summer holiday, we were a little worried about that. But when Christmas ended, it suddenly became 14%. There are a lot of reservations.

The travel expert says the company hasn’t noticed that Norwegians have less money to travel with.

– It was a big surprise for us. We didn’t expect that. I was pretty sure the numbers were going to be worse when we got them on Monday.

Berg believes that summer holidays take priority in difficult economic times, for example, visits to restaurants:

Summer is sacred to Norwegians. It seems that the Norwegians still have money. They may not prioritize restaurant visits in the future, but summer vacations with kids and family.

Summer vacation protection

Charter company Ving says it also sells many rides these days.

– January is the month we sell the most flights, but we were very surprised by the demand, says Norwegian CEO Marie-Anne Zacrisson.

Ving’s manager says there are many people booking flights every day.

People crave the sun and summer and book their next vacation. We sell more flights now than we did three years ago.

Nor did Vinge notice a decline in purchasing power among Norwegians.

– We kind of remember when we had the economic downturn in 2009. Then we were in a similar situation. But this year’s vacation, be it two weeks in Crete or one week in Cyprus – was sheltered. And you conclude you’ll probably drop quite a few other things.