The holidays are coming up, so many people are planning a visit to their home countries. Workers and students who originally come from abroad, but now live in Eindhoven or its surroundings, make frequent use of Eindhoven Airport. The airport appears to be the connection between their home and the region where they now live and support economically.

Among workers and students in Southeast Brabant originally from abroad, destinations in Eastern Europe and European capitals are especially popular. Airport figures show that of over 4.9 million passengers at Eindhoven Airport this year (until mid-October), over 1.2 million travelers flew from or to Eastern Europe. Some 1.6 million travelers flew from or to one of the 25 capital cities offered by the airport. Adding up, more than half of passengers chose a destination in Eastern Europe or a capital city. Mainly for friends or family visits. That number is not small and is still growing. Some figures at a glance.

Poland and Bulgaria main suppliers in industry and university The province of Brabant has more than 100,000 labor migrants, according to province figures. With their work - especially in logistics or in agricultural or food processing companies - they make an important contribution to the Brabant economy. Two thirds of them come from countries in Central or Eastern Europe. By far the most come from Poland, followed by Romania, Hungary and Bulgaria. An increasing number of students from Eastern Europe are also coming to TU/e.

According to Brainport, with 629, the largest number of international technology students comes from Bulgaria, out of a total of 4,135 international students in 2020. Furthermore, there are also more and more knowledge workers in our region. In 2019, the municipality of Eindhoven alone counted 9,000 knowledge workers. They work, for example, in technology, in the manufacture of machines, devices and tools or in software development or production.

Eastern European destinations popular at Christmas

This is evident, for example, from Eindhoven Airport's top five destinations in December 2021. After Alicante and Malaga, Krakow, Budapest and Sofia are the most popular. Over 21,800 passengers left that month for the three cities in Central and Eastern Europe compared to over 19,000 for the Spanish destinations. While travelers to Spain are expected to opt for a sunny December month, migrant workers, internationals and students travel to their home countries to spend the Christmas season with loved ones.