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Doubling of journeys, Advent cruise and more train services

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It's Monday again, which means travel news here at FREEDOMtravel. We ourselves have just returned from a very interesting trip in the Czech Republic, which we will continue to tell you about during the week. Here is this week's news:

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Doubling of travel bookings after announcement of lifted MFA advice

After the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced the lifting of the pandemic-related advice against foreign travel worldwide on 1 October, searches for travel increased sharply. In the days following the announcement, holiday bookings increased by 36 per cent and bookings to destinations outside Europe increased by 112 per cent, according to statistics from the travel agency Ticket. Please note that despite the lifting of the advisory, you must check your country's entry regulations. These long-haul destinations are the most booked right now:

  1. Gran Canaria, Spain
  2. Dubai, United Arab Emirates
  3. Phuket, Thailand
  4. Playa del Carmen, Mexico
  5. Madeira, Portugal

New and extended services with SJ in the 2022 train timetable

In the new timetable for 2022, SJ will expand its traffic in large parts of Sweden. The biggest news is that Borås and Trollhättan have new direct connections with Stockholm, that the number of departures on the route Linköping-Stockholm-Gävle will increase by 50 per cent and traffic to and from Jämtland will be expanded. The train timetable for 2022 will apply from 12 December 2021.

Photo: SJ / Stefan Nilsson

Viking Line launches Advent cruises to Visby.

After the summer's record-breaking interest in domestic cruise destinations and in connection with the fact that the pandemic restrictions are now largely dismantled, Viking Line is releasing three Advent cruises to Visby for the first time. The ship Viking Cinderella will depart from Stockholm to Gotland on 5, 12 and 19 December 2021, with two atmospheric evenings on board and one day on Gotland. For those who prefer to schedule their cruise for the major holidays, the shipping company also offers Christmas Eve and New Year's cruises to Åland Mariehamn.

Vueling expands at Arlanda and Landvetter - two new direct routes to Paris

The Spanish low-cost carrier Vueling is expanding its range of routes between Sweden and France by launching two new direct routes from Stockholm Arlanda and Gothenburg Landvetter this autumn. From Stockholm and Gothenburg it is currently possible to fly to Paris-Charles de Gaulle and this will soon be complemented by direct routes to Paris Orly Airport (ORY):

  • From 3 November: Stockholm Arlanda Airport - Paris Orly Airport, with three departures per week.
  • From 5 November: Göteborg Landvetter Airport - Paris Orly Airport, with two departures/week.
Photo: Vueling

Record number of visitors to Hemavan this summer

There has been full activity in Hemavan where a record number of visitors have chosen an active mountain holiday this summer. The number of guests who booked accommodation in Hemavan between 15 June and 30 September has increased by as much as 56 percent compared to the previous record. Hemavan Alpint's guest survey also shows that 28 per cent of all guests who visited Hemavan this summer were there for the first time.

Reflection of the week

As last week, we can see that travelling is back on track. Even if you have to keep an eye on regulations in different countries, there are still many destinations abroad that are now possible to visit again.

Did you miss the last travel news? Read the Railcard, 'flight school' and increase in travel bookings

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