EUROPEAN TOURISM 2010 – Trends & Prospects - VisitBritain

18 European Tourism in 2010: Trends & Prospects (Q2/2010)Prospects for European TourismA mixed and modest recovery is underway• Early data for the year indicate the beginnings of a modest recovery• Industry sentiment continues to be optimistic for the near term• Overnight arrivals to Europe are now expected to grow 2.9% for 2010• However, 2008 levels will not be recovered until 2011• The current sovereign and bank debt situation places downside risk forremainder of the year and next yearIndustry sentimentEurostat surveys businesses in key service industries each month to determinesentiment about current and expected business activity. The results arepresented as the balance of positive versus negative responses. The travel andtourism industry is represented in these surveys by three sectors: the transportindustry, hotels and restaurants, and travel agencies. These surveys have beenrecently revised by Eurostat and only data through April were available at thetime of publication.Industry sentimentremains moderatelypositive for the shortrun.All three service industries remain positive about near term prospects as of theApril 2010 survey. Industry expectations in both in the Eurozone and EU aregenerally consistent in each of the industries surveyed. Travel agencies andtransports remain the most positive about demand expectations in the next 3months.Service Industries Expected DemandNext three months, % positive/negative balance.50403020100-10-20-30-40-50Travel AgenciesHotel & RestaurantTransportationJan-04Jul-04Jan-05Jul-05Jan-06Jul-06Jan-07Jul-07Jan-08Jul-08Jan-09Jul-09Jan-10Source : EurostatHoteliers and restaurateurs remain less certain and sentiment slippedmarginally in the last month. Yet among the countries surveyed, most werepositive on the near term outlook for demand and all countries were decidedlymore positive than at the same time last year.© European Travel Commission, July 2010