European Tourism Continues to Grow, Despite Economic Trouble

European Tourism Continues to Grow, Despite Economic Trouble

Despite continuing economic turbulence, European tourism industry figures are up. These are the findings of the ITB World Travel Trends Report, compiled by IPK International and commissioned by ITB Berlin.

The figures are based on extracts from the European Travel Monitor and World Travel Monitor, as well as assessments by more than 50 tourism experts and scientists from around the world.

According to the findings, a year-on-year comparison shows that trips out of Europe have increased by 4 percent. Economic uncertainty in many European countries has not affected travel spending, which has risen by 2 percent. According to the UNWTO, from January to August 2011, international trips to Europe rose to 671 million, an increase of 4.5 percent. The forecast for next year is also positive.

In September 2011, travelers from 13 European countries were asked whether and how often they intended to travel next year. Forty-three percent said they would be travelling as often in 2012 as this year, while 27 percent aimed to travel more. By contrast, 20 percent said they would be travelling less than in 2011.

Overall, IPK’s European Travel Confidence Index is at 103 points for 2012, indicating 2 to 3 percent growth next year. This would represent solid growth and would mean a new all-time high number of trips, ahead of the previous record year of 2008. Details of European travel trends will be presented by the ITB World Travel Trends Report, which will be published in early December by ITB Berlin.

The report is based on the assessments of 50 tourism experts from 30 countries, on a special IPK International trend analysis undertaken in leading source markets, and on core data supplied by the World Travel Monitor, recognized as the largest continuous survey of global travel trends in some 60 source countries.

The findings reflect trends which emerged during the first eight months of 2011. At the ITB Berlin Convention, Rolf Freitag, CEO of IPK International, will present the findings for the entire year, as well as the latest forecasts for 2012. The ITB Berlin 2012 will be taking place from March 7 to 11.