European Cities Marketing (ECM) has just published the seventh edition of its European Cities Marketing Benchmarking Report. For 2010 the total number of bednights in European cities experienced year-on growth of 6.5%. International bednights increased by an even more striking 8.9%, indicating full recovery from the downturn in volume recorded in 2009 as a consequence of global economic recession.
The study indicates that London, Paris, Berlin, Rome and Madrid are Europe’s leading “Big 5” urban tourism destinations in terms of the key bednights parameter. London is leader of the pack, recording a massive 49 million bednights, and between them the fifteen best performing cities can be seen to generate impressive 234 million bednights.
As for individual cites in 2010, six out of the fifteen top performing cities scored double-digit year-on increases: Amsterdam notched up the highest year on growth rate (13.6%), followed by Frankfurt, Munich, Madrid, Vienna and Berlin.
| Destination | Bednights in mn. 2010 | % change
09-10 |
|
| 1 | London | 48.7 | 3.5% |
| 2 | Paris | 35.8 | 5.7% |
| 3 | Berlin | 20.8 | 10.2% |
| 4 | Rome | 20.4 | 9.1% |
| 5 | Madrid | 15.2 | 11.4% |
| 6 | Barcelona | 14.0 | 9.6% |
| 7 | Prague | 11.9 | 6.4% |
| 8 | Vienna | 11.7 | 11.0% |
| 9 | Munich | 11.1 | 12.4% |
| 10 | Amsterdam | 9.7 | 13.6% |
| 11 | Hamburg | 8.9 | 8.4% |
| 12 | Palma de Mallorca | 7.3 | 1.5% |
| 13 | Lisbon | 6.2 | 7.8% |
| 14 | Frankfurt | 6.1 | 13.5% |
| 15 | Budapest | 5.9 | 8.6% |
Source: www.europeancitiesmarketing.com
Based on a sample of 89 cities
In respect of international tourism flows, and taking Europe as a whole, the principal country source markets in 2010 were the United States and Germany, followed closely by the United Kingdom. Italy forms another highly significant generator of international overnight stay tourists. It is noteworthy that Russian and China – two of the so-called emergent ‘BRIC’ markets – now occupy 8th and 9th place in the table below. Even more striking is the year on-growth of 28.7% for Russia and 16.5% for China.
| Source Market | Bednights 2010 | % change 09-10 | |
| 1 | United States | 13.5 | 7.9% |
| 2 | Germany | 13.1 | 6.3% |
| 3 | United Kingdom | 12.9 | 1.4% |
| 4 | Italy | 10.6 | 5.7% |
| 5 | France | 7.8 | 10.6% |
| 6 | Spain | 7.1 | 5.9% |
| 7 | Japan | 4.0 | 7.4% |
| 8 | Russia | 3.9 | 28.7% |
| 9 | China | 1.6 | 16.5% |
Source: www.europeancitiesmarketing.com
Based on a sample of 89 cities.
The ECM Benchmarking Report focuses on the strategic and competitive position of European city destinations, and is based on statistical data compiled from ECM member cities. ‘It is an indispensable resource for every city tourism manager. Thanks to the number of cities participating in this project and the large timescale that the data covers, the ECM Benchmarking Report delivers the most reliable and trustworthy figures available in the field of European tourism,” explains Dieter Hardt-Stremayr, President of ECM.
The ECM Benchmarking Report, which includes more than 100 pages of tables and graphs, is available in PDF format and is distributed by ECM Head Office (regular price € 990.00 / special rate for ECM members’ partners and ETC members € 590.00 / free for ECM members).
