The global economic crisis doesn’t just cause headaches and poverty, but in an odd way it also creates advantages – and travelers can rejoice and squeeze the benefits out!
The crises across the Western World have made some travel services cheaper.
As Last Minute Spider brings to our attention – there are specific opportunities during times of economic crisis. Certain travel services, especially the ones sold in certain parts of the World have been getting cheaper during the recent years.
Booking late could spare you a lot of money, as many of us know. This was so even before the economic turmoil that has spread to the entire globe. Only that saving on travel becomes even easier during this crisis… if you know how to save.
Let’s go through the issues and see how to benefit from lower prices! Let’s see how we can benefit from booking late and getting the exact same services for substantially less!
Last Minute Traveling Has Always Been a Strong Budget Travel Segment
Special last minute discounts are offered by agents and airlines, hotels and cruise lines in an effort of trying to minimize losses due to low sales. If not enough seats or hotel rooms were booked in advance, then the companies drastically cut the prices to gather as few late bookers as possible.
The last minute deal hunting became quite trendy in the early 2000’s. And now it seems it’s getting more wide-spread.
Most major agents, airlines and hotel sites have a section dedicated to this segment. Budget traveler buyers have already gotten used to “risk and hunt”, “grab a bargain trip at the last minute”.
Wait and hit down upon the services 1-3 weeks before departure and you are likely to be in for a price-cut.
How The Economic Crisis Helps Saving Even More
Since 2008, tourism in some parts of the world has suffered.
The unwinding crisis has affected the airline – and hotel industries especially. Europe is high on the tourism industry’s “losers” list, as some of the most popular destinations are now receiving less tourists due to the socio-economic turmoil.
Countries like Spain, Greece, Italy, Portugal have been severely hit by the crisis. The social unrest (street protests, violent riots) scared foreign tourists away.
As less people visit these countries and as the national economies struggle, the travel agents are forced to cut the tariffs!
You might be in for double discounts! Purchasing a bit later by benefiting from the late offers was already popular, but now the tightened belt around the local economies actually shrinks the prices, as well as the lower demand.
Hotels, cruises and guided tours offer some of the best bargains.
In case of airlines, the change is rather towards the worse: higher prices.
Focus on shrinking your expenses on accommodation and ground or water-based transportation.
Less tourists to Greece, Spain etc. means less hotel rooms occupied. Due to frequent riots, the visitors avoid the entire country.
But: you can enjoy fantastic trips away from the riot-prone areas (big cities like Athens, Thessaloniki, Barcelona and Madrid), by visiting the islands or rural areas, smaller cities for a lot less than before the crisis!
On average, the late deals brought 25-50 % lower prices, but if you’re lucky, the crisis prices will bring up to 75 % cheaper services.
Where to Travel During Crisis?
The best choices are the European countries that have been strongly affected by the euro crisis.
At the same time, you have to avoid the largest urban areas and especially the capitals, this due to security concerns – theft, vandalism have gotten more frequent and violent riots are abundant as well.
Avoid Athens, Barcelona, Madrid, Thessaloniki, Lisbon, Athens, Rome and several other large cities for a while.
Most travelers arrive to the southern countries through these big cities. But due to the decreasing number of visitors, fewer go further to explore – but you can do just that!
Some of the best places to visit during this economic crisis are: the Greek Islands (Santorini, Mykonos, Naxos, Crete, Corfu are among the most popular ones), the friendly rural areas in the Mediterranean countries, Andalucia in Southern Spain, the Balearic Islands, the Canary Islands, Madeira, Corsica, the beautiful island of Capri (near Naples, Italy) and the list could go on.
You might want to consider flying in to some smaller city like Pisa or Venice and explore the attractions there.
How to Grab the Best Prices at Last Minute
Travel either at the beginning of the high season (March, April, May) or towards its end (August, September, October) and try reaching your destination(s) directly. Even small islands like Mykonos, Santorini have their own airports.
The Canaries and Madeira, as well as the Azores and the Balearic Islands are pretty much “another World”, so the social unrest on the mainland can be avoided… They are far away from Europe and the life standards are much higher. In fact: regionally speaking, there is no crisis there at all (unlike on the mainland)!
Consider traveling in larger groups. Local travel agents sometimes give discounts for groups of more than 10.
Club Magic Life Fuerteventura Imperial in Spain
Pick local airlines, local/indigenous hotel companies to reserve with. They tend to have more discounts (“crisis prices”) and basically, the worse the socio-economic situation gets, the more desperate travel agents become – for your convenience, the prices will drop!
Mid-range is getting cheaper. While budget is still “budget”, the mid-range services are starting to become more affordable.
In 2012 already, once popular parts of Greece (for instance, but Spain as well) were much less visited by tourists, prices dropping way below “usual” tariffs.
Have a more flexible approach to travel. Hunt, scan the offers and you can even turn this economic crisis to your advantage! By combining the benefits of last minute travel and the lower prices induced by the economic crisis, you’ll save a lot more than in previous years!
Hurry up, travel until the crisis still lasts!
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