Travel news: Bus + ferry, camping record and disruptive travelers

By: Editorial Office | Source: press material

It was Monday again and time for travel news. This week it's all about everything from combined bus and ferry trips to camping records, concerns about canceled flights and disruptive fellow travelers. Every Monday you'll find the week's travel news here!

Viking Line and FlixBus launch combined trips

Viking Line and FlixBus are starting a new collaboration that will make it possible to book bus and ferry in the same booking. In this way, Viking Line's traffic on the Baltic Sea is connected to FlixBus's large route network in Europe.

The new combination trips were launched on October 1 and include Viking Line's morning departures between Stockholm and Turku and all departures between Helsinki and Tallinn. FlixBus has stops near the ferry terminals in Stockholm, Turku, Helsinki and Tallinn.

Record summer for Swedish campsites

Swedish campsites had 12.7 million guest nights during June–August 2026, an increase of 3 percent compared to last summer. Swedish guest nights increased by 2.8 percent and international ones by 3.5 percent. Norway, Germany and the Netherlands were the largest foreign markets.

Camping also stood for 44 percent of holiday accommodation among European tourists in Sweden during the summer. However, the statistics do not give the full picture of camping tourism, as overnight stays at many campsites are not included in the Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth statistics.

More Swedes worry about canceled flights

Following the spring flight disruptions in connection with the conflict in the Middle East, Swedes' anxiety about air travel has increased. 25 percent say they are worried about delayed or cancelled flights before or during a trip abroad this autumn and winter, according to a survey from Ticket. Last year, the corresponding share was 19 percent.

However, the concern does not seem to stop the desire to travel. Ticket bookings for the fall and winter are 6 percent above last year's level, while 41 percent say that the world situation does not affect their desire to travel. However, one destination stands out: bookings to Dubai have decreased by 70 percent, after the extensive flight disruptions in the region this spring.

Bayreuth celebrates 150 years of Wagner

This year marks 150 years since the first Bayreuth Festival was organized in 1876. The festival was created by Richard Wagner, who had his own opera house built in Bayreuth so that his works could be performed in the way he himself had imagined. To this day, the Festspielhaus attracts Wagner enthusiasts from all over the world.

The anniversary year is also being celebrated elsewhere in Germany during the autumn, with Wagner performances in Hamburg, Leipzig and Berlin, among others. For those traveling to Bayreuth, there are also attractions such as the UNESCO-listed Margrave's Opera House, the New Palace, the Hofgarten and the Hermitage.

Singapore Airlines improves in-flight food and beverage experience

Singapore Airlines (SIA) is now making the in-flight food and beverage experience even better with over 100 new and reinterpreted dishes under SIA Chefs' Selection – a new menu category developed by the airline's in-house chefs and guest chefs.

The dining experience goes hand in hand with an updated range of drinks in all cabin classes, as well as new wines and specially designed Christofle tableware in Suites, First Class and Business Class.

The improvements are part of a larger investment in the entire travel experience, which will be unveiled in Singapore in November 2026. Among other things, new cabin products, an upgrade to the entertainment system and faster onboard wi-fi will also be launched.

One in ten Swedes has traveled abroad to date

The hunt for love has become a reason to pack your suitcase. A new survey from Momondo shows that 11 percent of Swedes have at some point traveled to a destination with dating as the main purpose. Among millennials, the percentage is even higher, at 15 percent, and men are slightly more likely than women to have taken such a trip.

When Swedes get to choose where they would most like to spend a month with dating in mind, the top Paris, Rome and Barcelona, followed by London and New York. The survey was conducted among 1,000 Swedes who plan to travel abroad within the next three years.

This is what bothers Swedes the most when traveling

Music and videos played without headphones are what annoys Swedish travelers the most. In a new international survey from eSIM company Saily, 72 percent of Swedes say they are bothered by this. Almost as many are bothered by calls on speakerphone, 71 percent, and children disturbing other passengers, 70 percent.

At the same time, Swedes admit to some of their own habits. 62 percent say they take their shoes off while traveling, but only 13 percent are bothered when others do the same. Once on vacation, it is mainly littering on the beach that irritates us – 73 percent say they are bothered by it.