Thursday, February 15, 2024
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Towards the end of 2023, European tourism continued to recover strongly, approaching pre-pandemic levels despite inflationary pressures.
Across reported destinations, international tourist arrivals were 1.6% below 2019 figures and overnight stays were 0.6% below. This indicates robust travel demand across the continent, a trend that is likely to continue into 2024.
This is according to the latest edition of its quarterly report, “European Tourism Trends and Outlook”, published today by the European Travel Commission (ETC).
We will look at the region’s tourism performance and economic indicators for the final months of 2023.
The recovery is being driven by increased intra-European travel, mainly from Germany, France and the Netherlands.
Long-haul arrivals are also recovering, but at a slow pace and with wide variations between regions such as Asia Pacific and North America.
Commenting on the release of the report, ETC President Miguel Sanz said: “The high travel demand seen in 2023 will provide a major boost to the European economy and help improve the balance sheets of tourism companies, which have been hit hard by travel restrictions.”
But a return to pre-pandemic levels will also put pressure on the travel industry to accelerate its sustainable transition.”
High-demand, value-for-money destinations
European travel has remained strong in the final months of 2023, with two-thirds of destinations reporting full recovery or having arrivals and overnight stays within 10% of pre-pandemic levels.
Among these destinations, Southern Europe remains the top contender, buoyed by favorable weather conditions continuing into the off-season.
Serbia saw the largest increase in arrivals (+15%), followed by Portugal (+11%), Montenegro (+10%), Turkey (+9%) and Malta (+8%).
It is also a popular destination for all-inclusive vacations and more affordable travel costs, key to attracting price-conscious travelers.
Other countries also achieved strong recoveries compared to 2019. Iceland saw a 12% increase in tourism numbers, even amid a volcanic eruption.
However, in the Netherlands, despite a smaller 2% increase in arrivals, tourist overnight stays increased by 16%, indicating that people are staying longer.
In contrast, Eastern European destinations neighbouring Russia have recovered more slowly, with countries such as Lithuania (-32%), Latvia (-29%), Estonia (-27%) and Finland (-24%) lagging behind.
Tourism remains strong despite economic inflation
The recovery in arrivals and overnight stays across Europe is coming against a backdrop of inflation that is affecting both the industry and tourists.
In the fourth quarter of 2023, inflation is expected to surge 23% compared to 2019, with increases in tourism-related expenses such as international flights (+49%), package tours (+47%) and hotel rates (+35%) being particularly notable.
These price increases are putting a strain on household budgets, but they have not deterred the majority of people who want to travel.
While pricing pressures on tourism-related costs have eased somewhat through the second half of 2023 compared to the previous quarter, they remain significantly higher than pre-pandemic levels.
A long and uneven recovery to Europe
Chinese tourists accounted for 13% of long-haul tourists to Europe in 2019, but since China’s economy reopened, they have been returning slowly but surely.
Arrivals from China in 2023 are 67% below pre-pandemic levels, below the average of 22% for all other long-haul departure markets.
Capacity bottlenecks aside, Chinese travellers have remained risk-averse over the past year, leaning more towards domestic travel.
European destinations are expected to see a further recovery from this market in 2024, which is forecast to be 39% below 2019 figures.
Generational change and the influence of social media may increasingly change Chinese travel preferences, leading to a shift towards luxury and more authentic experiences.
In contrast, North American markets such as the United States and Canada saw a strong recovery: two-thirds of European destinations reported increases in arrivals and overnight stays from the United States, and more than half of Canadians saw similar increases.
Additionally, US and Canadian airlines have announced the development of an integrated air and rail reservations system for Europe, which they say will offer more sustainable travel options when traveling in the region.
Tags: destinations, Europe
