Traveling to Europe this summer will cost a lot more than before. This year, many European families are choosing to stay at home and not go too far abroad. Because of the long distance, the biggest increase in airfare is the cost of travel.
The Czech newspaper Lidové noviny has a chart showing that jet fuel prices have been rising steadily since the beginning of the year. Compared to this time in 2021, airfares have increased by almost a fifth.
The article said: "The biggest increase is on long-haul flights connecting Europe with Asia. In addition to fuel prices, the cost of flying around Ukrainian and Russian airspace is also included in the ticket price."
According to the article, many airlines have yet to re-establish Asia-Europe flights, making airfares very expensive and still difficult to buy because there are so few flights.
Many factors have pushed up the cost of European travel, and the European tourism industry is recovering strongly after the pandemic. Photo: Internet
This summer, there is an important detail that anyone booking a flight ticket should pay attention to, according to an article in the French newspaper Ouest-France: do not just look at the listed ticket price, but also see what additional fees will have to be paid. Even Air France now sells tickets for people, without luggage, and will have to pay extra if they bring even one suitcase.
Want to choose a seat with food on the plane, flight delay and cancellation insurance, lost baggage insurance, details previously included in the ticket price are now charged separately. If you want to cancel or change the ticket, the fees skyrocket.
Airfare is just one of many expenses that come with a summer vacation. "Airfare, hotel, car rental: Everything is expensive," reported the Swiss newspaper Basler Zeitung.
According to the article, hotel room prices in Greece increased by 47.5% compared to before the pandemic, in Italy by 43%. In short, hotel room prices increased by almost 1.5 times, car rental prices increased by 3 times. According to an example in the article: "Easter 2019, renting a car in Mallorca was 27 Euros a day, this year it has reached 77 Euros".
In addition, food costs have also increased. The Danish newspaper Politiken interviewed a restaurant owner, who said that electricity and gas bills had increased by 30-40% in a short period of time, food ingredients had increased by about 10%, not to mention that wages had to be increased to find workers.
Many factors have pushed up the cost of European travel. The European tourism industry is recovering strongly after the pandemic, but this year it still relies mainly on domestic tourists.
