European Travel Commission:

European Tourism Shows Modest

Growth in 2016
European tourism demand continues to grow and proves resilient to safety and
security challenges and political turmoil. Overall growth, however, has slowed from
the previous year (+5% in 2015) affected by those destinations required to rebuild
market confidence following tragic events. The most visited region in the world
welcomed 620 million international tourist arrivals in 2016, a 2% increase compared
to the same period in 2015[1].
According to the European Travel Commissions latest report, European Tourism
Trends & Prospects, the majority of destinations reported healthy growth in the last
months of 2016. Iceland remains the top growth destination (+40%) followed by the
outstanding performance of Cyprus (+20%) and Slovakia (+19%) owing to improved
air connectivity and off-season visitation. Bulgaria (+16%) also saw robust growth
while other destinations such as Serbia and Portugal (both +13%) are increasingly
becoming appealing for bargain hunters. On the contrary, safety and security
concerns weigh down on visitor numbers in Turkey (-31%) and Belgium (-14%) while
a strong Swiss Franc weakens Switzerlands tourism performance (-2%).
European destinations acknowledge the need to remain competitive in a sector
that is swiftly adapting to the diverse needs of travelers from both established and
emerging markets. Only through increased commitment and cooperation from the
European tourism authorities will Europe remain a competitive destination and will
succeed in fostering inbound travel said Eduardo Santander, Executive Director of
ETC.
Europes Large Source Markets Continue to Drive Growth
European travel remains heavily reliant on intra-regional demand. Several
destinations reported double-digit growth from Germany and France, attributable to
stable economic conditions in the Eurozone. In the UK, a weaker pound failed to
deter travel demand, with almost one in two European destinations reporting
double-digit growth from this market. Visitor arrivals from Russia are gradually
improving with significant increases recorded in the Mediterranean and the Baltic
destinations. Russian tourist flows are expected to grow throughout 2017 as the
trouble strengthens.
US arrivals to Europe increased by 8% (some 27.4 million) in 2016 helped by a
strong dollar, encouraging economic conditions and favorable airfares. However, it
remains to be seen whether this trend will continue due to the new US
administrations retrenchment from globalism. Overall, Chinese growth (+2%) has
slowed down from 2015, as safety concerns dissuades travel to Europe.
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