ETC: Will Greece Feel the Pinch of the Brexit in the Short-term?

The Brexit inevitably sparks tourism fears concerning air fares and the future of border travel, the European Travel Commission (ETC) notes in its latest report “European Tourism – Trends & Prospects” (Q2/2016) released on Wednesday.

“While airlines are still assessing how exactly the Brexit will impact their industry, for the moment, the weaker pound has immediately made outbound trips for UK inhabitants more expensive”, the ETC said.

As noted in the report, Britons will certainly continue to travel, but, it still remains to be seen whether key tourism destinations for this market (Spain, France, Italy or Greece) will feel the pinch of the Brexit in the short-term.

Conversely, Europe has now become even more appealing for US citizens with a weaker pound and euro against the dollar.

Sustained Growth in European Tourism Towards the Summer Peak Season

According to the ETC’s latest report, a vast majority of European destinations saw a bumper increase in arrivals in the first five months of the year, with 1 in 2 recording double-digit growth.

“The current scenario in Europe points towards sustained growth amid a volatile political and economic environment in the first trimester of the year”, the ETC says.

According to the quarterly insights report, top performing destinations are Iceland (+35%), Slovakia (+24%) and Cyprus (+21%). High growth is also reported in Ireland (+17%) and Romania (+16%), while traditional Mediterranean destinations such as Portugal (+14%) and Spain (+13%) are hitting records outside peak seasons.

“This positive momentum is mainly driven by improving economic conditions, the unrelenting efforts of destinations to increase the number of off-season visitors, and the continued interest for European tourism products from large intraregional and overseas markets”, the ETC said.

Moreover, Russian demand has shifted as 13 out of 27 reporting destinations saw a sizable rebound from the falls experienced in the same period last year, particularly Cyprus (+53%) and Malta (+28%). On the flip side, Turkey records a 16% decline in foreign arrivals attributable to persistent safety concerns. Recent attacks in Atatürk, the country’s busiest airport, are expected to impact on Turkey’s tourism industry further in the near future.

It should be noted that Greece is absent from the list as, apparently, no data was given for the country.