ETC: Tourists in Europe Expected to Spend €800.5bn in 2024, Up 13.7%

Photo source: ETC

Tourists in Europe are expected to spend 800.5 billion euros in 2024, up 13.7 percent compared to 2023, according to the new “European Tourism Trends & Prospects” quarterly report of the European Travel Commission (ETC), released on Thursday.

The report refers to the second quarter of 2024 and the rising expenditure proves that a strong recovery is taking place in the tourism market, with foreign arrivals and overnights surpassing 2019 figures in the first half of 2024.

According to the ETC, higher levels of inflation would naturally cause an increase in nominal spending, but increased demand for travel and several large-scale events held in the region did and will continue to contribute to the rise.

In the European market, Southern Europe and Mediterranean destinations showed notable increases in arrivals and remained regional leaders, driven by Serbia, Malta, and Portugal.

Of the destinations reporting data for this year so far, all but three have inbound expenditure growth ahead of 2019 levels. As well as seeing a faster recovery in demand than the European average, Southern Mediterranean economies have also seen inbound travel spend recover.

This is the case for Spain, Greece, Italy, Portugal, and Türkiye. Cyprus, which has been successful in diversifying its source market mix is still missing Russian tourists from a spend perspective, with inbound expenditure almost but not quite back up to pre-pandemic levels.

European tourism reaches new highs

Europe’s tourism industry continued its recovery in the second quarter of 2024 with foreign arrivals up by 6 percent and overnights, increased by 7 percent, both surpassing 2019 figures and reflecting a year-on-year increase of 12 and 10 percent, respectively. The growth is propelled by robust intra-regional travel from Germany, France, Italy, and the Netherlands.

Year-to-date data indicates that both traditional and non-traditional Southern European and Mediterranean destinations continue to be the most popular choices for tourists in Europe.

Notable increases in arrivals compared to 2019 levels were recorded in lesser-known destinations such as Serbia (+40 percent) and Bulgaria (+29 percent), as well as long-standing favorites including Malta (+37 percent ), Portugal (+26 percent ) and Türkiye (+22  percent). Greece followed Turkey, coming in 6th, with a 20.4 percent increase in arrivals during the same period.

It is notable however, that overnight international arrivals in Greece are projected to rise this year and in comparison with 2019 by 22 percent (table below), being included in the top five of this category, and following Albania, Serbia, Montenegro and Portugal.

The Nordic countries also show growing appeal, with foreign overnights up in Denmark (+38 percent), Norway (+18 percent), and Sweden (+9 percent). This indicates increasing success outside Southern Europe and in destinations that are relatively more e xpensive.

Conversely, the Baltic region continues to struggle, with Latvia (-24 percent), Estonia (-16 percent), and Lithuania (-15 percent) still experiencing international arrivals well below 2019.

Costs and expenditure

According to the ETC’s report, significant challenges continue to affect the travel sector. Tourism professionals cite rising costs of accommodation, business operations, and flights, along with staffing shortages, as major issues. Despite their ongoing impact, these challenges have lessened compared to the previous quarter.

Increases in business costs have led to a general rise in travel expenditure. The most significant increases in inbound spending for the year-to-date and in comparison with 2019, are in Spain and  Greece,  both up by 25 percent, Italy (20 percent), and France (16 percent). Other countries such as Croatia, Bulgaria and Romania expect to see longer average stays in 2024 than the previous year, which will also result in increased tourism revenue.

Future trends

 Though the US remains the best-performing long-haul source market, there is a notable uptake from East Asian markets, especially China.

As noted in the ETC’s report, European cities are proving a particular draw for Chinese visitors, as China is expected to become the fastest-growing source market for city destinations in 2025, overtaking the US.

There is also an increase in the number of travelers choosing off-season travel and lesser-known destinations, driven by the search for value-for-money and unique, authentic experiences. Notably, Albania and Montenegro have witnessed a remarkable rise in market share, up 86 percent and 31 percent respectively, since 2019.