Europe’s tourism recovery slows amid inflation, increased travel costs: ETC

The appetite for overseas travel to Europe from several source markets – Canada included – remains below pre-pandemic levels, but that has slightly improved compared to a year ago, according to new insights from the European Travel Commission (ETC).

It’s the latest data from the Long-Haul Travel Barometer (LHTB), which provides insights every four months on traveller sentiment in six overseas markets: Brazil, Canada, China, Japan, Russia and the United States.

The intention to travel is measured in an index that reflects the dominant sentiment expressed by a market – either positive or negative.

Values above 100 index points indicate a positive evolution, whereas values below 100 indicate negative attitudes towards travel in a given period.

Although the Russia-Ukrainian conflict has created new challenges for the European travel sector, it appears to have had a limited impact on sentiment in most long-haul source markets except in China and Russia, with the majority of respondents (76%) stating that the conflict has not impacted their travel intent.

Results show that COVID-19 concerns, travel-related costs and the lack of convenient travel connections are the main deterrents to long-haul travel this summer.

“ETC is pleased to see that long-haul travel sentiment is gradually improving as the world continues to recover from the pandemic – albeit at a slow pace,” said Luís Araújo, ETC’s president. “It is heartening that the ongoing conflict in Ukraine has not become another deterrent to international travel to Europe. Europe remains a safe and attractive travel destination.”

“Nonetheless, the fallout from the conflict, such as rising costs of living and travel related costs are hampering the sector’s recovery. Promoting Europe in overseas markets and restoring international mobility will be crucial for the sector’s recovery in 2022.”

Russia & China

Due to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and consequent sanctions imposed on Russia, Russian travellers desire to visit Europe reached the lowest level on record (78p).

This is significantly lower than the sentiment expressed during the first COVID-19 wave (87p in May-August 2020) when most European countries had entered strict lockdowns, said the ETC.

Simultaneously, the ongoing conflict has deterred Chinese travellers (19%) from visiting Europe.

However, the war is not the primary concern for risk-averse Chinese travellers, said the ETC.

U.S. has remained stable

As for Americans and Canadians, both groups have yet to convert their travel plans into bookings, the ETC said.

The travel sentiment index in the U.S. has remained stable from last summer (109p). However, sentiment for visiting Europe has slightly deteriorated (93p).

According to the survey results, this trend is mostly related to concerns surrounding the impact of inflation on personal finances and increased travel costs, said the ETC.

June and August are likely to be the most popular months for Americans planning European holidays.

However, more than half of Americans who stated their intention to travel to Europe during the summer season have not yet booked their plane tickets, suggesting that last-minute bookings will be a prominent factor in this market due to both economic and geopolitical uncertainty, said the ETC.

Canadians are hesitant

Canadians are similarly hesitant about when to take their next European holiday, with only 30% having booked their flight tickets for summer 2022.

Respondents from Canada wish to visit coastal and metropolitan destinations with France, Italy and the U.K ranking as the most popular countries to visit.

Brazilian respondents, meanwhile, have the most upbeat attitude towards long-haul travel to Europe (101p).

The resumption of flights to popular European destinations has positively influenced travel sentiment, with 1 in 2 Brazilians preparing to visit Europe during the next four months, ETC said.

In other parts of the world, Japanese enthusiasm for long-haul travel remains low (79p).

The sentiment for visiting Europe is somewhat higher (93), but only 14% of respondents have plans to take a trip to the region in summer 2022. 

In particular, 41% of respondents stated poor travel connections between Europe and Japan as their primary reason for not visiting Europe.

The summary report can be downloaded from ETC's corporate website here.

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