Brussels, 07 February 2011. The European Travel Commission (ETC) has just published its fourth quarterly report on European Tourism in 2010 – Trends & Prospects.
The following gives a brief overview of the report for the fourth quarter of 2010.
· The travel recovery in Europe, and globally, continued into the waning months of 2010. Data show a slight acceleration of growth of visitor arrivals across Europe in general in late 2010, before the weather in December stalled travel.
· Both airline and hotel industry data confirm the recovery reported in arrivals data. Passenger growth on European airlines continued at a brisk pace since air space closures in April with only a brief lull in early autumn and before weather-related disruptions in late December.
· Occupancy rates in European hotels continued to rise through November and growth in average daily rates are evident for all but Southern Europe.
· Exchange rates have been favourable for many European destinations. Arrivals from Russia and Japan have grown strongly throughout the year while the US has exhibited some stronger growth in the latter part of the year.
· Travel within Europe has benefited from a steady economic recovery in parts of Europe with intra-regional travel continuing to comprise the bulk of arrivals. However, the economic outlook for Europe holds particular risks of a slowdown in 2011.
· Concerns over sovereign debt in Europe provide the greatest source of uncertainty. After the bailouts of Greece and Ireland by the EU/IMF, attention has turned to Portugal and Spain. These concerns are currently reflected in long term interest rates.
· The risk of any of the ‘peripheral’ Eurozone economies defaulting is not insignificant. The consequences of default would induce major losses for all European banks and the transmission through the global financial system risks a return to recession for most of the world.
· On the positive side, the corporate sector continues to hold large cash positions which we expect to lead to a boost in both hiring and investment.
