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Mediterranean holidays remain very popular in town.
International tourists are expected to spend a record 800 billion euros ($869 billion) in Europe this year, according to a European Travel Commission report seen by Bloomberg — up a staggering 37% from the 583 billion euros ($633 billion) spent before the pandemic, according to United Nations tourism data cited in the report.
“For now, we see that southern Europe and the Mediterranean region remain very popular with European travellers,” Eduardo Santander, CEO of the European Travel Commission, told Bloomberg.
Santander added that tourists appreciate the aforementioned regions’ warmer climates and sometimes cheaper options. Greece, for example, remains a popular spot. Southern regions such as Croatia and Malta have also seen an increase in international tourists, up 7.6% and 37% respectively compared to 2019. Meanwhile, Albania has seen its share of overnight visitors soar by 86% compared to 2019.
Overall, 72% of tourist spending occurs in Western Europe, with most of the spending arriving on the continent from the Americas, according to the report. But some tourists want to avoid typical holiday cities where over-tourism is rife. As such, many are heading to northern European countries. Compared to 2019, Denmark saw a 38% increase in international overnight stays, Norway 18% and Sweden 9%.
Meanwhile, others are planning trips based on favorable exchange rates: Turkey has seen a 22% increase in international tourist numbers and Bulgaria a 29% increase compared to 2019, while Serbia has seen a 40% surge in tourist numbers since before the pandemic.
While adding nearly $900 billion to the European economy is certainly a boon, some countries aren’t so thrilled with the influx of tourists. Many places have implemented anti-tourism policies, such as banning new hotels and charging day-trippers fees. Local residents have also started to protest against tourist overcrowding, sometimes spraying tourists with water pistols to get their point across.
But these actions don’t seem to have deterred travelers yet: They’re still heading to Europe, and they’re still taking their money with them.
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Tori Latham
Tori Latham is a digital staff writer at Robb Report. She was previously a proofreader at The Atlantic and has written for publications including The Cut and The Hollywood Reporter. When she’s not writing…
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