Data gathered by online travel agency Vola.ro and digital financial services company Revolut in June-August 2018 showed that the number of Romanians who choose to spend their summer holidays abroad is increasing from year to year. Vola.ro saw over 100,000 plane tickets sold to destinations abroad this summer.

Vola.ro and Revolut travel experts also put the data together to find out the Romanians’ travel habits this summer and their vacation budgets.

The travel options of Vola.ro clients coincide with the destinations where Revolut users spent the most money in the summer of 2018. Thus, the holiday destinations preferred by Romanian tourists in 2018 are Italy, Spain, England, Greece and Germany.

The average holiday budget of a Romanian Revolut user was of about EUR 700 this summer, with people aged between 25 and 35 spending significantly more than the average. This was the lowest holiday budget in Europe. By comparison, Revolut users in Spain, Italy and France spend about EUR 1,100 on vacation, while the Poles and the Portuguese spend about EUR 1,000. The Europeans with the highest holiday budget are the citizens of Great Britain, with a holiday budget of about EUR 1,400.

Romanians spent an average of EUR 380 on summer flight tickets, more than the Italians (EUR 309), the French (EUR 314) or the Spanish citizens (EUR 340). However, according to Vola.ro, increasingly more Romanians choose to buy their flight tickets for the summer vacation in advance, which helps them save up to 30-40% of the ticket price and to enjoy more attractive deals.

Around 15% of Romanians chose this summer an all-inclusive vacation, the same data revealed. The rest chose to stay in hotel rooms or in rented apartments on Airbnb, spending an average of EUR 120 per person for accommodation. The Poles were the Revolut customers who spent the least on holiday accommodation, with an average of EUR 107 per person.

Food and beverages are often the main attraction of summer holidays. The Romanians spent an average of EUR 130 per person at restaurants, a significantly lower amount than most Revolut users in Europe. While people in Germany, France and Austria spent about EUR 200 per person on meals, the British spent EUR 250, while the largest gourmands remain the citizens of Luxembourg and Switzerland, who spent an average of EUR 277 and EUR 252, respectively, on meals at restaurants during vacation.

When it comes to transportation, the data showed that whether they chose to rent a car or go with Uber, taxis or public transport, Revolut users in Romania spent on average EUR 55 per person on holiday transport, a sum much lower than other European citizens. By comparison, UK citizens spent an average of EUR 70 per person while Belgians and the Dutch spent about EUR 80.

Romanians, almost last in EU for holiday expenses

Irina Marica, irina.marica@romania-insider.com

(photo source: Pixabay.com)