ITB Asia News 2019 Day 2 Edition

EUROPE
REGION
15
FACTS & FIGURES
Europe as attractive as ever
Growth of inbound tourists continues in first half 2019
Europe’s cultural diversity, unique landscapes and lifestyle
continue to make it the most visited continent in the world.
According to the UNWTO, the first half of 2019 has seen
sustained growth at 4%, in line with the world average.
Southern and Mediterranean
Europe recorded 6% growth y/y
in the first half, down from 8% the
previous year. Central and Eastern
Europe saw 6% growth; a rise from
the previous year’s 5% increase.
Western Europe recorded a
modest 2% growth in arrivals in
the first half, down from 4% growth
the previous year. And Northern
Europe was flat (0%) in the first
half, compared to 1% in 2018.
Looking at statistics for the full year
2018, Europe remains a favourite
for passion-related travellers
looking at thematic experiences
such as history, slow adventure,
culture, city life, gastronomy, agrotourism
and sustainable tourism.
With 710 million international
arrivals (51% market share) and
revenues of 571 billion dollars
(39% market share), Europe
remains the world’s leading tourist
continent. Last year, the growth of
its arrivals reached 6%, according
to figures from the World Tourism
Organization, UNWTO.
The destinations in Southern
Europe and the Mediterranean
recorded the strongest growth
over the year, up 8.2%. Among
the countries with the best growth
rates were Turkey, which benefited
from favourable exchange rates
following the devaluation of its
currency. Greece continued to
attract tourists thanks to improved
air connectivity with China, the
Gulf area and the United States.
Malta was the top performer
among Mediterranean countries,
also benefiting from the strong
development of low cost carriers’
offerings. Arrivals for the island
were up by 14.3% in 2018. Tourism
in Italy also recorded an excellent
summer season (up 6.7%) as well
as Portugal, up by 7.4%. Only Spain
saw their arrivals stagnating.
Arrivals in Central and Eastern
Europe increased by 6%, with
Hungary, Armenia, Georgia,
Kazakhstan and Moldova
recording excellent performances.
These countries benefited from
the continuous growth of low-cost
carriers, particularly in Hungary
or Moldova. All the former
republics shaping in the past the
Yugoslavian federation recorded
double-digit growth rates last
year. Serbia was the top performer
at +14.2% followed by Bosnia-
Hercegovina at +14.1%, North
Macedonia at +12.2%. Slovenia at
+10% and Montenegro at 10.6%.
International arrivals to Croatia
grew by 6.7%.
Russia, while showing moderate
growth in arrivals in the first nine
months of 2018, saw its revenues
jumping by 40% under the positive
influence of the FIFA World Cup,
which was hosted in the country
from 14 June to 15 July 2018. Only
Ukraine saw total arrivals slightly
declining by 1.5%, a situation due
to political instability.
In Western Europe, international
arrivals increased by +6% in 2018,
driven by Belgium and France. Both
countries saw foreign tourists’
arrivals growing respectively by
9.1% and 2.9%. France remains
the largest tourism destination in
the world with over 89.4 million
international tourists in 2018.
Good weather conditions
favoured the Netherlands (up
by 6.1%) as well as Austria,
Germany and Switzerland with
respective growth rates in arrivals
of 4.6%, 3.8% and 5.2%. Even
tiny Liechtenstein recorded an
excellent year 2018 with total
arrivals up by 10.3%. Northern
Europe grew by around 1%. While
the growth in arrivals in Denmark,
Iceland, Ireland and Sweden was
strong, the United Kingdom saw
its arrivals declining by 3.5%
for the entire 2018. Obviously,
uncertainties around the Brexit
discouraged some travellers to
visit the UK despite the fact that
the Pound sterling value has been
declining. Meanwhile, tourist
revenues in the UK increased
last year by 2%. The number of
overnight stays also increased in
Latvia (+8.3%), Lithuania (+7.7%)
and Poland (+5.8%)
TOP EUROPEAN
COUNTRIES
IN FOREIGN
INTERNATIONAL
ARRIVALS (2018)
France
Spain
Italy
Turkey
Germany
Greece
89.400 million
82.773 million
62.146 million
45.768 million
38.881 million
30.123 million
ITB ASIA NEWS • Thursday 17 October 2019