I SPECIAL FEATURE I
I SPECIAL FEATURE I HONEYMOONS I26 ITB BERLIN NEWS 01 • WEDNESDAY 4 TH MARCH 2020www.itb-berlin-news.com
I REGION I EUROPE ILake Bled in SloveniaEUROPEEurope still dominates worldtourism in 2019 despite softergrowthIn 2019, Europe's growth rate was below the worldaverage for the first time in three years. According topreliminary statistics released by the UNWTO, Europerecorded last year 742.3 m international arrivals, agrowth of 3.7%, while the world saw tourist arrivalsgrowing by 3.8%.The difference is minimal butthis marks a return in fortune forEurope. In 2017, international touristarrivals to Europe were up by 8.6%compared to a world average of 7%and in 2018, Europe growth was stillsuperior by 0.2 point to the worldwith a growth of 5.8%.According to UNWTO, 2019 was infact a very special year for Europeas many events contributed toderail tourism expansion. Negativefactors were the global trade warand the Brexit issue. For UNWTOintelligence chief, Sandra Carvao,“Britain's looming departure fromthe European Union had generatedstrong uncertainty and hasimpacted its economy, which hasimpacted the value of its currencyleading to fewer British nationalsgoing abroad on holidays.”European tourism woes came alsofrom the collapse of European touroperator Thomas Cook as wellas the bankruptcy of a numberof European carriers such asAdria Airways in Slovenia, FlyBMI,Germania and Aigle Azur and XLAirways.Within the continent, Southern andMediterranean Europe continued torecord the strongest rate of growth.This part of Europe was up lastyear by 5.5% with a market sharereaching 41% of all internationaltourist arrivals to Europe. WesternEurope remained the second largestdestination within the continentwith a market share of 27.5% ofall international tourist arrivals,translating into 204-million visitors.Europe destined to be #1 for onlinedistribution, says PhocuswrightAccording to Phocuswright, Europeis set to have the highest onlinepenetration of any region from 2021,while 2019 gave the European travelindustry plenty of opportunities todemonstrate its resilience.The recent travel research byPhocuswright, entitled the “EuropeOnline Travel Overview 2019”, thesudden collapse of one of the region'sbiggest travel brands, the loomingexit of the UK from the EuropeanUnion, and myriad challenges in theairline segment each threatened toderail growth. Despite these andother formidable issues, Europe'stravel market grew roughly 2%in 2019 to €296bn. Though thefallout from these challenges willno doubt extend through 2020 andbeyond, travel continues to be a keyelement of the European lifestyleand the continent remains anattractive destination for travellerseverywhere. Hence, the overallmarket is still projected to climbover the next several years.Led by Europe's two largest markets— the UK and Germany — onlinebookings are projected to continueto climb. By 2021, Europe will, saysPhocuswright, surpass the US tohave the highest online penetrationof any region77.8%This is the market share of theEuropean Union with its – stillby then – 28 countries. Thisis equivalent to 577.2 millioninternational tourist arrivals,a growth of 2.6% over 2018.Numbers for 2020 will be down,due to the departure of the UKfrom the EU...SPAIN,EUROPE'SNUMBER 2The number of internationalvisitors to Spain hit an all-time highof 83.7 million in 2019 realising itsseventh straight year of records.This represented a growth of 1% inarrivals compared to 2018. Franceremains number one with 89million arrivals in 2018...150 MILLIONTOURISTS TOCENTRAL/EASTERNEUROPEWith over 150 million internationaltourist arrivals, Central/EasternEurope continues to be popular,reaching a growth of 3.9% and amarket share of 20.8% in 2019.ITB BERLIN NEWS 01 • WEDNESDAY 4 TH MARCH 2020 27
