Top Reasons for Booking Air Tickets on Christmas

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The approach of Christmas is known as among the busiest periods for travel.  At this time of year, airlines and their ticketing offices are besieged by people seeking to spend the holiday season in fun places outside their home countries.   

There are many reasons why people book air tickets for Christmas travel, the chief of which is the need to visit relatives and family friends based in other countries.  Thus, many poor countries that need tourist revenues provide enticements to citizens who work and live in richer nations to return home for the Christmas holidays. They could bring home any goods they want tax-free.   

 

For the same purpose, some air ticket bookings are made by people who could not travel at Christmas time but for the benefit of relatives in other places that they want to spend the holidays with. The tickets are simply sent to the relatives who then take the flight to visit and stay with the purchaser of the tickets for the duration of the Christmas season.

The search for a new and different experience is another major reason why air ticket booking on Christmas goes overdrive.  For example, people in landlocked countries book air tickets to spend the Christmas holidays in beach resorts. Conversely, those who are used to beaches and the sea book air tickets for metropolitan areas known for their skyscrapers and other urban delights.        

Then there are the shopping meccas that draw people from all over the world.  Paris attracts shoppers keen on the latest fashions, while those who want expensive jewelry for their Christmas shopping will fly to Switzerland.

For some heartbroken people, Christmas may also be a good time for escape.  Let’s say a family tragedy struck while you were celebrating Christmas in the not-too-distant past. As a result, the people involved come away from the experience hating to be reminded of anything Christmassy.  So they book air tickets for places that don’t make so much fuss about Christmas perhaps because of non-Christian beliefs. 

Natives of tropical countries dream of a white Christmas and the holidays afford them a chance to make this dream come true.  So they book travel to Europe and North America to celebrate Christmas with snowmen around.  The United States is a popular destination for Christmas not only because of the snow but also because of the famous New Year’s Eve celebration on Times Square.

Not all tickets purchased at Christmas time are used for the holidays, however.  Many people actually book their tickets during the holidays for use next summer to take advantage of cheap air tickets.      

Where Christmas Travel is Fun and Enjoyable

 

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The holiday season is on for travelers to fly to places where they can partake of Christmas fairs, buy traditional souvenirs, taste the national Christmas dishes of different countries, and listen to festive music that celebrates the birth of Christ.  In Europe and neighboring countries, the centers of holiday travel are Finland, the Czech Republic, London, Maldives, Hungary, and Germany.  Come New Year Brazil will be the focus of holiday celebrations.    

Finland tops the list of holiday travelers because this is where the real Santa Claus supposedly lives.   So visitors there will be treated at Santa’s house where they are taken for a ride on a reindeer-pulled carriage.  You can also go dog sledding, snowboarding, snowmobiling, and skiing.

Accommodation may be a cozy cottage in Lapland or a hotel in Helsinki.  Christmas in nearby Kemi features an ice festival, during which the enthusiasts build lifesize snow hotels in which tourists can spend the night. There are countless winter activities such as the “games of the first snow” and “Rally in the Hills,” Winter Games in Ounasvaara, “Polar Trails,” and “Arctic Golf Santa Claus.”

For visitors who prefer skiing, the ski resorts of the Czech Republic are an excellent choice.  This country is also noted for Carlsbad, where people bathe in outdoor thermal springs during winter.   From December 5 to 24, the capital Prague turns into a huge Christmas fair. 

The music-minded travelers usually head for London at this time of year when Christmas music festivals are held at the Royal Festival Hall. 

But for those who yearn for Gypsy music, Hungary is the place where a Hungarian music and wine festival is held in Budapest with the participation of the world-famous Gypsy Orchestra.  After the celebrations, everyone will be able to plunge into the hot mineral springs, which are so many throughout Hungary.

Daily shows also await Christmas travelers in Germany, specifically in Nuremberg where the Christmas market called Kriskindlesmarkt is held along with daily shows.  The Largest Christmas beer festival will present 75 beer brands for beer lovers in the Belgian city of Essen.  

Christmas celebrations are also worth experiencing in Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Vietnam, and Maldives.  For those who want a warmer Christmas, they may go to Brazil, where New Year’s Eve becomes a fiery carnival centering on the beaches of Copacabana.  The only thing to remember is that the organizers expect more than 2 million participants in the night festivities, which means that even a ticket to the beach on the subway should be bought in advance.