Data from European Cities Marketing indicates that, in 2010, the total number of bednights saw year-on-year growth of +7.0% with international bednights increasing almost as strongly at +6.8%.
The Dijon, France-based network of city tourist offices and convention bureaux, says its numbers are based on a sample of 59 European cities, including leading city destinations like London, Berlin and Prague.
Commenting on the growth, the President of European Cities Marketing, Dieter Hardt-Stremayr, is positive and even has an upbeat take on the turmoil now taking place in North Africa. “Effectively, 2010 was a recovery year after the global economic recession,” he said. “Recent political developments in the Middle East region may restrict visits there and encourage more tourists to take city breaks in Europe. Although accommodation prices are not expected to rise significantly this year, an increase in bed nights will raise revenues.”
In 2010, the top five European cities in respect of bednights generated by international tourists were London, Paris, Rome, Prague and Barcelona. However, among the top ten performing cities in Europe based on the highest year-on-year growth were Munich (+18.4%), Amsterdam (+15.5%), Berlin (+15.1%), Madrid (+14.9%) and Vienna (+8.8%).
ECM says that all the important source markets for European city tourism recovered from the economic crisis and increased in bed nights. The US market was the single most important source of international tourists, followed by Germany and Italy. Japan and the UK, which both saw strong declines in bednights in 2009, generated a slight increase in 2010. Russia and China showed the highest year-on-year growth rates, recording +31.6% and +24.8% respectively.
