Almost two-thirds (60 percent) of all “Coral Travel” travelers in the Baltic countries plan their summer holidays precisely during the early sales period. This trend grows by a few percent each year, and the main reasons are not only travelers’ desire to secure the desired hotel but also the aim to save money and avoid last-minute stress.
Read more Shocking prehistoric find on the beach: «100 percent» belonged to a huge ancient predator
Behind the scenes of summer holidays: preparation for the next season takes place all year round
According to Olga Belova, Managing Director of “Coral Travel” for the Baltic countries, launching a new season is one of the most complex and responsible processes of the year, requiring precise market forecasting.
“It is a very complex and time-extended process: while people are still just thinking about the current year’s summer holidays, our team, more than 800 people across the entire group, is already negotiating contracts for the next year’s summer season so that we can launch early sales on time. This is an extremely responsible job because it is necessary to forecast the market, supply volumes, and price dynamics for the upcoming period as accurately as possible, not only in our country but also in holiday destinations. How accurately we manage to plan everything later significantly reflects in the annual financial results,” says O. Belova.
According to Olga, the Baltic countries’ markets are among the most advance holiday planners compared to other European countries. For example, travelers from Germany or the United Kingdom are mostly people traveling with tour operators. They tend to take care of their holidays a few months before departure, whereas travelers from the Baltic countries plan at least half a year or more in advance.
Price changes: domestic inflation in countries also affects
According to the managing director, considering economic trends, prices for the upcoming season in recent years almost always differ from the current year’s prices. This year, besides increased aviation fuel prices, the main reason for price changes is high domestic inflation in the holiday countries themselves, especially in Turkey and Greece.
“Turkey remains the most popular summer destination, accounting for about 60 percent of the entire summer travel program. In recent years, the inflation rate in Turkey has been rising, while in the Eurozone, the inflation rate remains quite stable at about 2.8 percent. Increased inflation directly affects hotel operating costs (salaries, energy resources, etc.), so Turkish hotels are forced to raise accommodation prices. Meanwhile, in another popular summer holiday destination, Greece, price growth was closer to the entire Eurozone — the average annual inflation in 2025 was about 3 percent. However, the summer season itself in Greece is shorter, which also affects the final accommodation prices. We estimate that holiday prices in these destinations will increase by about 10–15% next year. On the other hand, hotels are very interested in securing occupancy for the upcoming season as early as possible, so a significant portion applies current season prices (“roll-over”) for early sales; this is where the economic benefit of planning holidays in advance is best seen. It is only important not to forget that hotels set quotas for rooms with lower early sales prices during the early sales period. In other words, prices are attractive, but the number of such rooms is limited,” explains O. Belova.
Read more UTMA ranked the top eight for 50,000 euros
The best hotels are booked first: why last-minute purchases often disappoint?
In recent years, stories of disappointed travelers have appeared more often in the press, when waiting until the last minute, they have to choose from what is left or pay a disproportionately high price. The reality is that the most popular, so-called best-seller hotels are snapped up first.
“We have many clients who want to return to the same hotel every year; usually, such hotels are on the best-sellers list, but it should be understood that these hotels are desired not only by travelers from the Baltic countries but also by those coming from other countries. During the peak summer season, 500–600 planes land at Antalya airport, more than 85 percent of these flights are international — people do not realize that Turkish resorts are just as popular for summer holidays among travelers from other countries. Another critical moment is certain holiday dates, such as children’s holidays and public holidays. These dates are the most in demand and often coincide in most European countries. Considering the situation on a European scale — planning holidays at the last minute during such periods significantly narrows hotel choices. And the third important point during such periods — even if there are still free rooms in the hotel, when planning a trip at the last minute, there may already be no seats left on the planes,” says the managing director.
Early planning safeguards
To provide travelers with a greater sense of security when planning holidays a year ahead, the tour operator applies additional safeguards during early sales.
“We understand that planning holidays so far in advance requires trust. Therefore, we apply the lowest advance payment in the market — only 10 percent, and the remaining amount can be paid 14 days before the flight. This allows families to plan their budget comfortably and without stress. At the same time, we aim to ensure complete transparency: considering the uncertainty in the aviation fuel market, which additionally costs both people and us, we leave a condition that if due to a fuel price surge the trip becomes more expensive by more than 8 percent at the time of departure, the traveler has the right to terminate the contract without any penalties and get all paid money back. Moreover, we maintain the planning flexibility insurance — during early purchases, the services “Traveler change” (possibility to change one of the travelers) and “Flexible trip change” (when it is possible to change the trip date, hotel, or room type) cost only 1 cent,” emphasizes O. Belova.
Start of the 2027 summer holiday season
In 2027, the summer season will be opened by the tour operator “Coral Travel” with flights to Turkey: from Kaunas, planes to Antalya will take off from April 2, and from Vilnius — from April 3. In May, the Greek summer program will also start — the first flights from the capital to Crete are scheduled for May 1. Considering the growing demand for this destination, the frequency of flights at the beginning of the season is increased to three times a week. “We observe the growing potential of Crete island, so we do not rule out the possibility of having up to five flights per week during the summer season peaks,” shares Olga Belova. And from May 16, travelers will be able to choose flights to Montenegro twice a week.
Read more Terrible fires in apartment buildings in Switzerland: 5 people missing, 19 injured
