Price hike fears fuel early sales of Santa Lapland day trips

Fears of prices rises later this year is fuelling early bookings for Santa day trips to Lapland this Christmas, according to Newmarket Holidays.

Flights for day trips to visit Santa in Lapland are already starting to fill up for this Christmas fuelled by fears of price rises later in the year.

The operator said flights were already starting to fill up, 300 days before Christmas, and attributed early sales to families looking at ways to avoid price hikes, manage their costs, and take advantage of discounts available until the end of this month.

The fastest-selling flight departures are out of Belfast International, Norwich and Humberside, according to the operator, which surveyed 14 departure airports across the UK including Gatwick, Glasgow, Luton and Birmingham.

Head of trade sales Richard Forde said: “Santa experiences are one of our most popular tours, with families getting the chance to meet Santa in his cabin, take a snowmobile ride and enjoy the wintery paradise of Swedish Lapland.

“The day-long Lapland breaks have been selling quickly over the past few weeks as people plan ahead to help manage their Christmas costs, which means that festive flights are filling up already.”

Newmarket’s capacity is limited to just one aircraft a day to the Swedish Lapland resort of Pajala, exclusively served by the operator, where families can meet Santa in his cabin and take a snow mobile ride. The Lapland Santa Experience Day Trip is on sale from £630, which includes a 10% discount until February 28.