Sunweb and Transavia get approval for the first holiday pilot to Rhodes

Together with trade organization ANVR, the organizations have been preparing for some time for the first holiday pilot on April 12 to the Greek island of Rhodes. The holiday consists of an eight-day all-inclusive package trip to Rhodes, operated by Sunweb and Transavia. Frank van Oostdam, director of ANVR, expresses his confidence in the outcome of this pilot. “Dutch people are eager to go on holiday abroad again and travel organizations in turn are also eager to organize those trips. But it must be safe and corona-proof: I have full confidence that this initiative will demonstrate that you can enjoy a carefree and safe holiday through your travel organization.

In a holiday bubble

During the holiday pilot, travelers celebrate their holiday in a 'bubble' in the luxury resort Hotel Mitsis Grand Beach. This resort is open exclusively to holidaymakers, which means that there are no other guests present besides the hotel staff. All resort facilities are open to ensure a full holiday experience. In addition to following the existing corona measures, holidaymakers are not allowed to leave the resort during their holiday. During the search and booking process, but also during, before and after the trip, all holidaymakers are in close contact with travel organization Sunweb. Travelers must take a corona test prior to travel and provide a negative PCR test upon check-in at the hotel. Before the return trip, a PCR test is again taken at the hotel and holidaymakers must go into quarantine for ten days upon returning home, with a new PCR test being taken on day five.

To trust

Mattijs ten Brink, CEO of Sunweb Group: “It goes without saying that I am pleased with the bright spot of the holiday pilot. The travel industry is longing for a concrete date to be able to travel again. Holidays are high on everyone's wish list and the need for holidays is only increasing. Holidays are the time to recharge, unwind and take a break from your hectic life. That is why we believe that everyone deserves a nice holiday. I remain confident that we will be able to go on holiday again soon.” Marcel de Nooijer, CEO of Transavia: “We are happy that we can do our part at this time to ensure that we gain experience in the travel sector and learn through collaboration to put a positive spin on this drastic period. With the ANVR, Corendon, TUI and Sunweb, we can collect valuable data with this holiday pilot for holiday travel, so that we can quickly make it possible to go on holiday safely again. And it goes without saying that these insights are shared with the entire sector so that all partners in the travel industry can use them. Together we want nothing more than to offer the entire sector and all Dutch people who want to travel again a good perspective.

Register for the pilot

Interested parties who are longing for a holiday and sun can register from Wednesday, March 24, 6 p.m. via the website www.sunweb.nl . Based on all registrations, Sunweb manually selects the 189 holidaymakers who meet the target group criteria set by the Dutch government. This target group consists of various age groups between 18 and 70 years, excluding high-risk patients. The selected guests are then personally contacted by Sunweb by telephone to discuss all information and guidelines.

Success of the pilot

The holiday pilot is successful when the number of infections is nil and valuable data and insights are obtained under which conditions people can go on holiday safely and responsibly. This does not mean that travel restrictions can necessarily be relaxed as a result of a low number of infections. The holiday pilot will only be carried out if this is deemed safe by the RIVM. The government can press the emergency button at any time if there are extremely many infections or signals about worrying variants at the destination. The holiday pilot will then be cancelled. The Sunweb and Transavia holiday pilot is evaluated by an independent agency.