A packed summer: tourists return recharged to Europe

Summer begins in San Benedetto del Tronto and the hotels have almost run out of reservations. This little spa Italian Bathed by the Adriatic Sea, it awaits one of its best seasons and is getting ready to receive an avalanche of tourists.

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Needless to say, what awaits most sought-after destinations such as Rome, Paris, Madrid, Barcelona or London. The empty streets that were seen three years ago are no longer so. The bitter pill left by the pandemic is just a bad memory. If 2022 already showed signs of evident improvement in the European tourism sector, this 2023 is looking forward to making up for lost time.

According to the World Tourism Organization, a body linked to the UN, Europe already reached 90% of the volume of tourists in the first quarter of this year than in the same period of 2019, so everything suggests that the pre-pandemic numbers will be exceeded. That year, which marked a record in the flow of visitors, the Old Continent received 743 million tourists, both intra-European and from the rest of the world.

In 2022, Europe had already recovered 82% of the figures for 2019, according to the European Travel Commission, and everything points to a prompt normalization.

This despite the consequences that the prolongation of the war in Ukraine is bringing with the increase in product prices, and the fact that airlines are not fully recovering after the crisis in the sector caused by COVID-19.

Southern Mediterranean destinations are recording the fastest recovery and are almost reaching 2019 levels, mainly due to more affordable prices, according to the European Commission. Thus, Turkey experiences an important ‘boom’, not only because it is a strategic point between Europe and Asia, but also because of the weakness of the lira against the euro. Other countries that have excellent prospects are Serbia, Portugal, Greece and Luxembourg.

Goodbye to zero COVID

One of the most interesting factors in the projections for this year, and those to come, is the flow of Chinese tourists, who now no longer have restrictions on leaving their country after the strict zero COVID policy ended at the end of 2022. .

Before the pandemic, China was the world’s largest source of tourists and accounted for around a tenth of global tourist departures, according to a report by The Economist Intelligence Unit. Although it is not expected to reach the levels of 2019, when 155 million departures were registered, 59 million Chinese are expected to leave their country.

However, Europeans do not expect an explosion of Chinese visitors, as they still require a Schengen visa to enter the countries of the European Union. According to the European Travel Commission, Serbia is one of the most sought after destinations by the Chinese, who have no restrictions on entering there. However, it remains to be seen what will happen in the remainder of 2023 in this market, which is also one of the most consuming.

According to projections, the number of Chinese tourists in Europe is expected to increase by 587% until 2027.

The rest of the Asian market will also be an important factor for the increase in tourism in the Old Continent. Switzerland is already experiencing it. And, specifically, the small town of Iseltwald, with just 400 inhabitants, where there is a wooden pier, which is the target of thousands of fans of Korean series, especially “Emergency Landing in Your Heart”, a drama which is set in this village and, above all, its breakwater.

The small pier in Iseltwald (Switzerland) has gained unusual fame as a result of a popular South Korean series on Netflix. (Photo: AFP) (FABRICE COFFRINI/)

Last summer, the village received 400,000 tourists a day, most of them Asian, and they are already expecting a bigger avalanche in the coming months.

The consequences of war

Another relevant point to consider is the war in Ukraine and, as a consequence, Russian tourism, which has always been very important, especially in Eastern European countries.

The Russians have not stopped traveling, but they are preferring other destinations, such as Serbia and Turkey, the latter one of the main destinations since the outbreak of the war. Russian arrivals accounted for 13% of total arrivals in Turkey in the first months of this year.

In the case of Serbia, it is not only because of the political closeness between the leaders of the two countries, but also because it has been one of the few European states that have supported the Russians in the military confrontation and it has also become the destination of many men. that they did not want to be mobilized as soldiers in the reserve. In addition, they do not require a visa.

The most affected are Finland (with a decline last year of 22% compared to 2021, and it is expected to worsen this 2023 after several bans on entry for Russian citizens) and the Baltic countries: Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

Also, many tourists – whether from the rest of Western Europe or from other parts of the world – are afraid to travel to Eastern Europe due to its proximity to Ukraine.

Source: Elcomercio