Paralela 45 posts EUR 50 million sales in 2017, up by 25 pct

Tour operator Paralela 45 has posted an EUR 50 million sales increase in 2017, up by 25 percent year-on-year and expects a 20 pct sales increase in 2018.

The growth recorded last year is down to the increased demand for tourist packages for local and foreign destinations as well as to the opening of new branches in Bucharest and around the country.

Last year, the biggest increase was recorded for tours, up by 35 percent, followed by a 23 percent increase in individual travel. The most popular destinations were Romania, Bulgaria, Greece and Turkey.

Charter flights from Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca, Iasi and Timisoara went up by 18 percent in 2017, with weekly flights recording a 98 percent occupancy rate. The number of tourists who picked the Greek islands increased by 45 percent, as well as Spain – 24 percent, Turkey – 20 percent, Cyprus – 5 percent. The number of online reservations increased after the tour operator launched its online portal in autumn.

According to Alin Burcea, Paralela 45 CEO, “In the past three or four years, Romanians chose local destinations. For instance, the demand for spa tourism has never been as big in the past 28 years. Domestic tourism is big.”

Read more about

Alexandrion Group is looking for a suitable location in Japan to build a distillery that will produce Japanese single malt whisky

read more

In 2018, Paralela 45 expects a 20 percent sales increase, based on several factors: the new destinations operated by charter flights, well-established destinations, new tours and a 45 percent increase of domestic tourism, fuelled by holiday vouchers.

For next year, the tour operator included in its offer charter flights from Bucharest to Greek Islands Samos and Lesbos, the Albanian seaside, Alanya, as well as packages for Puglia and charter packages to Antalya from Targu Mures.

“The start of 2018 has a very good outlook, it is a year when Romanians are even more willing to travel abroad. In the Early Booking period we booked 50 percent more holidays in Turkey than last year, 20 percent more for Greece. Demand for Bulgaria is 15 percent, for Spain and Romania is up by 10 percent,” Alin Burcea, CEO Paralela 45 said.

Recently, the tour operator opened new units in Bucuresti, Brasov, Arad, Bacau and Sfantu Gheorghe after an EUR 120,000 investment.