ETC: Europe’s Long-haul Recovery Slow Due to Asia – North America Variations
Although global tourism levels are fast approaching pre-pandemic 2019 levels, long-haul recovery to Europe is still slow with significant variations between Asia-Pacific and North America, reveals data released this week by the European Travel Commission (ETC).
According to the latest “European Tourism Trends & Prospects” quarterly report, although Chinese tourists accounted for 13 percent of Europe’s long-haul arrivals in 2019, in 2023 arrivals were still 67 percent below pre-pandemic levels compared the 22 percent average of other long-haul source markets.
Following the post-Covid opening of China to travel, the Chinese have preferred to travel domestically. According to ETC analysts, however, European destinations can expect to see a further rebound from the Chinese market in 2024, set to reach 39 percent of 2019 levels.
At the same time, analysts add that generational changes and social media influences are expected to increasingly reshape Chinese travel preferences, leading to a shift towards luxury and more authentic experiences.
Meanwhile, North American markets, such as the US and Canada, are seeing significant recovery. Two-thirds of European destinations have reported growth in arrivals and/or overnight stays from the US, while over half have seen the same for Canada.
At the same time, US and Canadian airlines announced developments in combined flight-rail booking systems for Europe, offering a more sustainable travel option when moving around the region.
Overall, in 2023, European tourism continued its robust recovery driven by strong intra-European travel, mainly from Germany, France, and the Netherlands, and nearing pre-pandemic levels despite inflationary pressures.
Across reporting destinations, foreign tourist arrivals came to 1.6 percent below 2019 levels, with nights down by 0.6 percent. “This marks a quarterly improvement across both metrics,” the TC said in its report. For 2023 this represents year-on-year growth of 17.7 percent for arrivals and 12.3 percent for nights.
“The high travel demand seen in 2023 provided a significant boost to European economies and will help improve the balance sheets of tourism companies, which were hard hit by travel restrictions. However, the return to pre-pandemic levels will also put pressure to accelerate the sustainable transition of the travel industry,” said ETC President Miguel Sanz.