Early-booking, a system "hunted" by Romanian tourists for the upcoming summer season

The generalization of the early booking sales system has led to an increase in the number of reservations made by Romanian tourists for destinations on the Romanian coast, but also for those in Bulgaria, Greece and Turkey, a fact also found in the balance sheet of the activity of the travel agency IRI Travel, which recorded in summer season 2024 a 41% increase in total sales and a 29% increase in the number of tourists compared to the summer season 2023. This increase was favored by the fact that through the early-booking system the annual rate increases, which varied between 5% and 20%, were not felt by those who bought their vacations at least 6 months before, due to discounts applied by hotels and travel agencies.

During the press conference that the agency organized at the Golden Sands, in Bulgaria, Lucian Bădîrcea, CEO of IRI Travel, said: "We have an enormous increase compared to the previous year, of 60%, in terms of tourist demand for reservations early booking, until mid-September. I am glad to note that we have a very large increase in the demand of tourists, already, at the present time, for early booking reservations. I am also glad that tourists have much more trust in travel agencies, and realize that through agencies they can get the best offers, ahead of time. The desired destination, the desired resort, the desired hotel, together with the best discounts".

Regarding the tourist destinations of Romanian tourists in the 2023 summer season, IRI Travel found that requests for Turkey and Greece increased by 83-84%, those for Bulgaria by 39%, while an increase was recorded for the Romanian coast of sales by 29%.

According to Lucian Bădîrcea, in the top of Romanian tourists' preferences is the resort of Golden Sands, followed by Sunny Beach, Albena, Obzor and Kavarna.

"The most searched resorts in Bulgaria were, in order: Golden Sands with an increase of 46%, Sunny Beach - with an increase of 53%, Albena - with an increase of 5%, Obzor - with an increase of 69% and Kavarna - with an increase of 24%", stated the CEO of the agency IRI Travel the representative of the agency.

His Majesty also highlighted the large number of requests for resorts in Romania: "The most sought-after resorts on the Romanian coast were Mamaia - with an increase of 20%, Eforie Nord - an increase of 27%, Saturn - an increase of 6%, Venus - up 71% and Neptune - up 78%".

The most sought-after resorts in Greece were also in the recently concluded summer season Halkidiki, Thassos and the Olympus Riviera, and in Turkey, Kusadasi with a record increase of 98% compared to 2023, Antalya and Didim.

• Offers for the 2025 summer season

Lucian Bădîrcea also showed that the early booking offers for the 2025 season are already available in the reservation systems, and tourists have started to book. Discounts for bookings made until 30/11/31/12 (depending on the hotel) vary between 25% and 35%. IRI Travel consultants expect the majority of bookings for the 2025 season to be made within the early booking program, offering tourists significantly discounted rates and excellent choices in the best hotels.

For example, for a 5-night stay between July 1-6, 2025, at Golden Sands, at a 3-star hotel, the price is 180 euros per person, all inclusive, and at a 4-star hotel, the price it is 203 euros per person, in the same all inclusive regime. In Sunny Beach, during the same period, the price is 195 euros per person at a 3-star hotel with all inclusive, respectively 209 euros per person at a 4-star hotel with all inclusive.

• New ski destination: the Bulgarian resort of Pamporovo

On the occasion of the press conference organized at the Golden Sands, the representatives of the travel agency IRI Travel announced the launch of special tourist packages with charter flights to the mountain resort of Pamporovo, in Bulgaria. The flights are operated by the Anima Wings company, on the Bucharest-Plovdiv route (a city located at a distance from Pamporovo by road, which takes about an hour and a half).

A 7-night stay in Pamporovo, which also includes plane tickets (including airport taxes; checked baggage of 23 kilograms, cabin baggage of 8 kilograms), airport-hotel-airport transfer and tourist assistance in Romanian, starts from 457 euros per person, with breakfast, at a 3-star hotel, respectively 529 euros per person, with breakfast included, at a 4-star hotel. New Year's Eve offers are already launched, with prices from 837 euros per person at a 3-star hotel and 915 euros per person at a 4-star hotel, departing from December 28, with breakfast included or half board and festive dinner on New Year's Eve.