Slovakia Travel Industry
U.S. - Slovak Air Travel
Travel industry employs over 320 thousand Slovaks and generates EUR 8 billion annually, directly impacting GDP with EUR 2 billion.There are no major airlines flying to the US directly out of Slovakia and unfortunately this will not change in the near future. Slovaks from the western part of the country fly direct to Chicago, New York, Washington, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Boston and Miami primarily from Vienna Schwechat International Airport (45 minutes from the capitol, Bratislava) and secondarily from Prague International Airport. Slovaks from the eastern part of the country can fly to New York, Chicago and Philadelphia direct from Budapest Ferenc Liszt International Airport (approximately 2 hours and 45 minutes from the country’s second biggest city, Kosice).
Popular Destinations
The most popular vacations for Slovaks are beach holidays and sightseeing. Leisure for Slovaks in US means getting a different view of another continent. This may include experiencing new customs & cultures, natural wonders, cities, historic landmarks, entertainment venues, attractions, amusement parks, outdoor recreation, festivals, gambling, sports/golf courses & skiing, museums, galleries, spas, hotels & restaurants or shopping. Caribbean cruises are the new trend due to favorable pricing. New York City, Miami and LA are the most visited places in the United States, followed by the national parks on the West coast. Learn more…
Popular Seasons of Travel
- School years end at the end of June, thus the most popular time to take holidays is the first two weeks in July. July and August are generally the busiest times for travel agencies due to the eight weeks of school holidays.
- Many people also take time off around Christmas and New Year as December 24th, 25th 26th and January 1st are State holidays.
- February / March are spring holidays months when Slovaks often take leave for family skiing trips in Slovakia, Austria, Poland or Italy. Note: Slovaks have 4 – 5 weeks of annual leave. There are additional fifteen State holidays (not applicable if it falls on a weekend).
All-inclusive shorter vacations are preferred to closer destinations.
Slovaks are conservative, choosing booking methods with traditional travel agencies to e-travel though individual travel package purchases via portals are increasing. The most famous portals are: booking.com, Airbnb.com, pelican.sk, expedia.com, skyscanner.com. Google survey shows that up to 74% of holiday planning utilizes the internet, and 83% of people use social networking, online videos and photos for inspiration. There are around 450 insured travel agencies in the Slovak market.
For more information contact Lucia Maskova.