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.

Source: ETC

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.

Source: ETC

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.

Source: ETC

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.