The carnival school holidays are generally a chance for Luxembourg residents to go skiing or seek out some sun. "The trend is towards departures abroad, with an increase in bookings that extends even to the next Easter holidays in April," says Luxair, without citing any figures.
In any case, tour operator LuxairTours has expanded its offer with 20 beach destinations, compared to eight for the 2021 carnival holidays, it says.
Just like for the Christmas holidays, Spain the top destination, says the tour operator. Next most popular is Portugal, followed by Egypt, which is benefiting from demand linked to a cruise organised in collaboration with ACL. Dubai, which is hosting the World Expo until the end of March, is also a favourite, as is Tunisia, without forgetting, for snow holidays, Lapland.
Beach rather than ski
"Compared to the 2021 carnival holidays, the volume of passengers has doubled,” confides Michael Gloor, director of Travel Group Luxembourg, the entity that groups together Voyages Émile Weber and Sales Lentz Group.
In terms of their destinations, the beach beats skiing hands down: Spain accounts for the majority of demand, particularly the Canary Islands. Egypt, which did not feature in last year's ranking, and the United Arab Emirates are next.
For more distant destinations, however, demand remains subdued, but TGL anticipates a rebound in the second half of the year, as health restrictions are eased. "People are travelling a lot more these days," explains its director.
A word of advice: get a head start
Luxembourg airport expects to see a lot of air traffic over the weekend, but is not releasing any figures. In the context of the high volume of traffic, combined with the global health crisis and the consequent tightening of controls, operator Lux-Airport recommends that travellers arrive at the airport "at least two hours in advance,” says marketing & communication manager Rebecca Pecnik-Welsch.
She also advises passengers to find out about entry requirements for the destination country and to make sure they have all the necessary documents. At the airport, passengers who wish to do so can take a PCR test and receive the result in two hours, for a fee of €199 and prior to check-in. The airport also has an advance booking system for parking spaces, with an online payment system.
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Luxembourg's schoolchildren will be on holiday until 20 February, along with those in Lorraine, who began their winter break on 5 February. In Germany, school holidays only start on 19 February in Rhineland-Palatinate (for one week) as well as in Saarland, where the "break" will last two weeks.
This story was first published in French on . It has been translated and edited for Delano.