IRI Travel: Romanians once again choose Early Booking offers
By Traian BĂDULESCU
► Early booking offers with discounts between 20% and 40% have been launched for Romania, Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey.
► Lucian Bădîrcea: I emphasize the importance of the over 1000 partner travel agencies, without whom we wouldn’t have achieved what we have.
► Conclusions from the 2023 summer season and what awaits us in 2024.
IRI Travel, one of Romania’s most well-known tour operators, announces excellent results for the year 2023, solidifying its position as a leader in the tourism industry.
In 2023, IRI Travel recorded a 42% increase in total sales and a 30% increase in the number of tourists compared to 2022. These exceptional achievements were made possible thanks to strong partnerships with over 1000 partner travel agencies. These trends were announced at a press conference held at the 4-star Prestige DeLuxe Aqua Park hotel, the best-selling hotel on the Romanian market in the Golden Sands resort.
At the end of the season, approximately 90% of the hotel’s guests are Romanians, followed by tourists from Germany, Ukraine, and other countries.
The evolution by destination in 2023 compared to 2022 was remarkable:
Bulgaria: +53%
Romania: +10%
Greece: +62%
Turkey: +11%
“As for the timing of bookings, the majority of reservations for the 2023 season were made within the Early Booking programs, with most sales occurring between October 2022 and March 2023. This strategy allowed tourists to benefit from significant discounts, so despite prices rising by approximately 10-15% compared to the previous year, they had access to rates similar to those in 2022. I emphasize the importance of the over 1000 partner travel agencies, without whom we wouldn’t have achieved what we have,” said Lucian Bădîrcea, CEO of IRI Travel.
Currently, over 50% of Romanians book travel packages for the upcoming summer season through early booking.
The evolution of the average cost of a vacation was as follows:
Bulgaria: €364 per person in 2022 to €405 per person in 2023
Greece: €405 per person in 2022 to €414 per person in 2023
Turkey: €510 per person in 2022 to €441 per person in 2023
Romania: 1080 lei per person in 2022 to 820 lei per person in 2023
Conclusion: The average vacation cost per person increased, primarily due to inflation.
The evolution of the average length of stay was:
Bulgaria: 5.44 days per stay in 2022 to 5.35 days per stay in 2023
Greece: 6.46 days per stay in 2022 to 6.3 days per stay in 2023
Turkey: 6.68 days per stay in 2022 to 5.62 days per stay in 2023
Romania: 4.58 days per stay in 2022 to 4.1 days per stay in 2023
Conclusion: The average length of stay decreased for all destinations. Tourists prefer shorter stays in nearby destinations but take more vacations per year.
The most sought-after resorts in Bulgaria were:
Golden Sands: +58%
Sunny Beach: +41%
Albena: +75%
Obzor: +72%
Kavarna: +61%
The most sought-after resorts on the Romanian coast were:
Mamaia: +25%
Eforie Nord: +18%
Saturn: +5%
Venus: +12%
Neptun: +9%
The most sought-after resorts in Greece were:
Halkidiki: +75%
Thassos: +19%
Olympian Riviera
In Turkey, the most sought-after resorts were:
Kusadasi: +29%
Antalya: +32%
Didim: +21%
Early booking offers for the 2024 season are already available in booking systems, and tourists have started to make reservations. Discounts for bookings made by 30.11/31.12 (depending on the hotel) range from 20% to 40%. As in 2023, IRI Travel consultants expect that the majority of bookings for the 2024 season will be made within the early booking program, offering tourists significant discounts and excellent options at the best hotels.
Here are the starting prices for a 5-night stay starting on 15.06.2024, including Early Booking discounts:
Bulgaria:
3-star hotel: €153 per person with all-inclusive
4-star hotel: €165 per person with all-inclusive
Romania:
3-star hotel: 537 lei per person with breakfast
4-star hotel: 1268 lei per person with all-inclusive
Greece:
3-star hotel: €173 per person with breakfast
4-star hotel: €196 per person with breakfast
Turkey:
3-star hotel: €123 per person with breakfast
4-star hotel: €174 per person with all-inclusive
5-star hotel: €209 per person with all-inclusive
Winter Holiday Trends
During this period, reservations are also being made for ski destinations in Bulgaria, Austria, Italy, France, and Serbia, with early booking discounts ranging from 10% to 30% for bookings made by 30.09/31.10.
There are also special offers for winter holidays:
Bulgarian Coast:
4-star hotel: €218 per person for 3 nights with all-inclusive (New Year’s Eve dinner included)
Bansko Resort:
3-star hotel: €187 per person for 3 nights with breakfast and New Year’s Eve dinner
4-star hotel: €238 per person for 3 nights with breakfast and New Year’s Eve dinner
Borovets Resort:
3-star hotel: €230 per person for 3 nights with breakfast and New Year’s Eve dinner
4-star hotel: €339 per person for 3 nights with half-board (New Year’s Eve dinner included)
In Romania, there are offers for:
Fundata Resort:
3-star hotel: 1711 lei per person for 3 nights with breakfast and New Year’s Eve dinner
Busteni Resort:
3-star hotel: 1685 lei per person for 3 nights with half-board (New Year’s Eve dinner included)
Băile Felix Resort:
3-star hotel: 2196 lei per person for 3 nights with half-board (New Year’s Eve dinner included)
