Industry Reports & Trends

With about one-third of the European population connected to the Internet, the popularity of low-cost carriers and the emergence of dynamic packaging, the European online travel market is finally taking hold. Led by the U.K., France and Germany, travel e-commerce reached 7.6 billion euros in Europe in 2002.

Despite tough economic conditions, a tense political climate and fewer travelers, the online travel market in North America performed surprisingly well in 2002. According to a new report from PhoCusWright Inc., “Online Travel Overview: Market Size and Forecasts 2002-2005,” online leisure/unmanaged business travel grew 37% to over $28 billion while the overall travel market declined 5%.

More than a million visitors are expected to flock to Athens to watch the action at the Athens 2004 Olympic Games. According to the Athens 2004 committee, foreign visitors during the two weeks of the Games will total somewhere between 500,000 and 700,000. Another 300,000 are expected from throughout Greece, and that includes volunteers. Then there are the 65,000 members that are directly involved in the Games.

There are a plethora of complaints coming from Greece’s hotel sector regarding difficult times, desperately low room rates and a severe drop in business. Perhaps so. Figures released recently by the ICAP Data Bank, however, tell a different story. These figure show that 2001 was perhaps the most profitable year for hoteliers since 1996. It was definitely a good year for hoteliers in the Attica region.

The first AEA traffic report for 2003 shows an increase in passenger-km of 6.4 percent over January of last year. This brought traffic volume back to within 1.5 percentage points of where it had stood in January 2001.

A prolonged war in Iraq would destroy more than three million jobs in the global travel and tourism industry and eliminate more than $30 billion of economic value (gross domestic product) in 2003, the latest research from the World Travel & Tourism Council shows.

The strength of the euro against the dollar brings some opportunities to the forefront for Greek travelers to countries outside of the EU. The same applies to travelers from other European Union countries, including Greece’s main markets of Germany and Britain, who may forsake traditional destinations such as Greece in favor of cheaper destinations.

Tourism arrivals to Greece in 2002 remained at a satisfactory level, said the Word Tourism Organization’s secretary general, Francisco Frangialli, during the recent Fitur travel fair held in Madrid. He added that prospects for Greece’s tourism sector remain positive in light of the Athens 2004 Games.

Despite ominous forecasts, Greek hoteliers and travel agents are somewhat optimistic for this year’s tourism sector. They feel Greece this year most likely will have fewer than anticipated losses thanks to its six-month EU presidency, which is expected to be a boon for the country’s tourist industry for a variety of non-political reasons.

Holidaymakers throughout Europe are showing a greater preference for booking travel online. In particular, Western Europe is set to see a dramatic increase in the number of hotel reservations made on the Internet this year.