ETC: European Tourism Shows Modest Growth in 2016

European tourism demand continues to grow and proves resilient to safety and security challenges and political turmoil, according to the European Travel Commission (ETC).

In its latest report, “European Tourism – Trends & Prospects (Q4/2014)”, the ETC underlined that overall growth has slowed from the previous year (+5 percent 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 percent increase compared to the same period in 2015”, the ETC said.

According to the quarterly report, the majority of destinations reported healthy growth in the last months of 2016. Iceland remains the top growth destination (+40 percent) followed by the outstanding performance of Cyprus (+20 percent) and Slovakia (+19 percent) owing to improved air connectivity and off-season visitation. Bulgaria (+16 percent) also saw robust growth while other destinations such as Serbia and Portugal (both +13 percent) are increasingly becoming appealing for bargain hunters. Greece is in the 25th place in terms of foreign arrivals growth as it noted a 3.5 percent increase during the January-September 2016 period (data for the three last months of the year was not provided on time).

On the contrary, safety and security concerns weigh down on visitor numbers in Turkey (-31 percent) and Belgium (-14 percent) while a strong Swiss Franc weakens Switzerland’s tourism performance (-2 percent).

“European destinations acknowledge the need to remain competitive in a sector that is swiftly adapting to the diverse needs of travellers from both established and emerging markets”, said Eduardo Santander, Executive Director of ETC.

“Only through increased commitment and cooperation from the European tourism authorities will Europe remain a competitive destination and will succeed in fostering inbound travel”, he said.

Europe’s 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 rouble strengthens.

US arrivals to Europe increased by 8 percent (some 27.4 million) in 2016 helped by a strong dollar, encouraging economic conditions and favourable airfares. However, it remains to be seen whether this trend will continue due to the new US administration’s retrenchment from globalism. Overall, Chinese growth (+2 percent) has slowed down from 2015, as safety concerns dissuades travel to Europe.