TUI expects a strong travel summer: cruises on the rise

The tour operator TUI Austria reports a significantly better booking situation for the summer of 2026. “We see a clear trend towards planning ahead – families in particular want security,” explains TUI Austria’s managing director Gottfried Math on Thursday as part of the Vienna Holiday Fair.

The family share of summer bookings is currently at 42 percent and thus four percentage points above the previous year. Beach holidays, all-inclusive offers and cruises shape the travel behavior of Austrians.

According to a survey by the British market and opinion research institute YouGov 85 percent of Austrians are planning at least one vacation trip this year, and more than half would like to travel more often than in 2024. Participants took part in the online survey 1,001 people in Austria between December 17th and 29th, 2025.

At the top is with 76 percent still the beach vacation. Are particularly in demand Mediterranean destinations such as Greece, Spain, Italy, Turkey and Croatia, but also long-distance destinations such as the USA, Thailand or the Indian Ocean are becoming increasingly important. All-inclusive trips are trending. According to Math, they account for 58 percent of bookings.

Cruises are booming

Cruises and club holidays are also becoming increasingly popular. 29 percent of respondents can imagine this type of travel. On club holidays they are 30 percent. “The cruise market continues to grow more dynamically than the entire travel market,” said Wybcke Meier, CEO of TUI Cruises. This year she expects up to 40,000 cruise guests from Austria, for example 30.000 they were last year.