Newsletter number 5

Travel trade update Coronavirus Holland (5)
  • Transavia airlines has opened the autumn and winter period of 2020-2021 for bookings.

Tickets for the period November 2020 to March 2021 are now bookable. Transavia will fly to 53 destinations this winter. Most destinations will go on sale from now on. In mid-May, 9 more destinations will be added. These are flights to Al Hoceima, Nador, Madeira, Dubai, Gran Canaria, Tenerife, Fuerteventura, La Palma and Lanzarote. In this way, Transavia can respond to the latest developments. Other top destinations this winter are Innsbruck, Barcelona, ​​Alicante, Marrakech and Malaga. Passengers who have received the so-called ‘corona voucher’ because of a cancelled flight due to the corona virus restrictions can use these to book a new flight.

  • Remarkable: Amsterdam Municipality prohibits Airbnb rental in three central neighborhoods

In three districts in the city center of Amsterdam citizens are no longer allowed to rent out their own homes to tourists. The municipality wants to limit nuisance from tourists, especially through rental via Airbnb. The ban will take effect on 1 July.Amsterdam alderman Mr Ivens says that residents in these three neighborhoods get a lot of nuisance from tourists. It puts the quality of life for residents under serious pressure. As of 1 July, residents for the 96 other neighborhoods in Amsterdam need a permit to rent out their homes to tourists. Such a permit is only issued if the house is permanently occupied and if the house is rented for a maximum of 30 nights per year, for a maximum of four people. Fines of up to 20,000 euros apply in case of violation.

  • Hotel website Booking.com asks Dutch government for financial support

Booking.com – which its headquarter in Amsterdam – until recently one of the most profitable companies in the Netherlands, has asked for government support as the number of bookings plunges to 15% of those of a year ago. The company has asked for help to pay its 5,500 workers in the Netherlands and the 48 customer service staff who were still in their probationary period have been laid off. The request came as an unpleasant surprise to many Dutch as Booking.com booked a net profit of 4.9 billion dollar last year.

  • Dutch travel industry set to lose 8 billion euro – urgent government support needed

If there is still a travel ban over the summer months, the decline in turnover in the travel industry due to the corona virus can rise to 80-85%; a loss of € 8 – € 8.5 billion. The original forecast for 2020 was a total of € 10 billion in turnover. In addition, the Dutch travel industry had to deal with tens of thousands of cancellations and prematurely interrupted holiday and business trips. These are some results of the survey conducted by the ‘ANVR’ (the Dutch Association of Travel Agents and Tour Operators) at the beginning of April among part of its member travel companies. ‘Without government support, this will have dramatic consequences for the companies and employment of the nearly 20,000 employees in our industry. About 300 travel organizations and 1000 (business) travel agencies are affiliated with the ANVR. The government has rightly identified the travel sector as one of the hardest hit sectors and promised compensation measures. We also hope that this will be implemented quickly.’

  • Schiphol Airport CEO: Our airport traffic to return to normal by 2023 

CEO and Chairman of the Royal Schiphol Group, Dick Benschop, believes that flight traffic at Amsterdam’s Schipol Airport will return to its pre-coronavirus levels by 2023 at the earliest.
Benschop, who has headed management at the Netherlands’ largest airport since May 2018, says that he is unwilling to increase the number of flights all at once to the maximum capacity of 500,000 flight operations per year.
“I want controlled recovery,” he explained. “So we don’t want to immediately reach the ceiling again, but in controlled steps,” he continued.
The global health crisis, and the travel restrictions that came with it, meant that the airport dealt with a 60 percent fall in passengers last month. By the first week of April, the airport had seen its passenger flight movements slashed by 90 percent, with the airport handling just five percent of passengers compared to the same period in 2019.
So far as the process for bringing the airport back to its pre-coronavirus capacity is concerned, Benschop say that decisions are being made concerning what appropriate steps ought to be taken.
“After corona, the world will undoubtedly look different than it did before,” he explained. “I don’t know how exactly. I am taking into account a range of different outcomes.”
In the meantime, Benschop is looking into ways to get Schiphol Airport prepared for the new ‘1.5-meter economy’.

  • One question at press conference Dutch government: “Can we book our summer holidays? 

Following the press conference by Dutch Prime Minister Mr Rutte Tuesday 21 April he it has been decided that the main restriction rules such as working from home, maintaining a 1,5 meter distance, all bars, restaurants, museums and many shops closed – will remain in force until 20 May. As an added measure all events and festivals have been cancelled until 1 September.Asked if people could safely book summer holidays, Rutte said: ‘Personally, I have cancelled a few things and am booking nothing. It is up to individuals themselves. But we cannot see more than three weeks ahead.’  Following the press conference Dutch umbrella tour operator and travel agency organisation ANVR (similar to the ABTA in the UK for example) has stated that no holidays will be organised leaving before 29 May.