TORONTO — European destinations are on their way to recovering pre-pandemic tourist arrivals, and Canadian travel sentiment for 2023 is positive, according to new stats from the European Travel Commission.
The ETC’s ‘European Tourism: Trends & Prospects’ report for Q4 2022, and the latest Long-Haul Travel Barometer (LHTB) 1/2023, show that travel recovery continued in late 2022, owing to strong pent-up demand and excess savings accumulated during the pandemic.
Long-haul markets to Europe are lagging behind short- and medium-haul, but the prospects for 2023 are encouraging, says the ETC. Recovery is slower in Eastern Europe due to the ongoing war in Ukraine.
A LOOK AT THE CANADIAN MARKET
While the share of Canadians planning to visit Europe between January and April was up from 15% in 2022 to 29% in 2023, the majority (62%) of Canadian respondents say they’ll refrain from overseas trips at the beginning of 2023. The main deterrent (39%) is disposable budget.
Canada’s arrivals to Europe are expected to be 28% below 2019 levels in 2023. The top European destinations for Canadians are France, Italy, the UK, and Germany.
Says Sandra Moffatt, Chair of ETC’s Canada Chapter: “2022 was a positive year for many European destinations, and we welcome the continuation of this strong rate of recovery from Canada. Despite ongoing economic headwinds, sentiment remains very positive with 70% of Canadians intending to take a long-haul trip this year, and we look forward to welcoming visitors looking to explore Europe in 2023.”
RETURN TO PRE-PANDEMIC LEVELS BY 2025
From all of its global markets Europe is anticipating a recovery of 75% of 2019 travel volumes to Europe in 2022. The strong rebound is expected to continue well into 2023, though at a slower pace.
International travel to Europe is forecast to reach pre-pandemic levels in 2025, while domestic travel will fully recover in 2024.
Close to one in two reporting European destinations have recovered more than 80% of their pre-pandemic foreign arrivals. Overall, southern Med destinations posted the fastest recovery as the year ended. Favourable exchange rates gave Türkiye a boost (-2%). Luxembourg (-4%), Serbia (-6%), Greece (-6%), and Portugal (-7%) are also approaching 2019 levels.
The full European Tourism – Trends and Prospects report can be downloaded from ETC’s website here: https://etc-corporate.org/reports/european-tourism-2022-trends-prospects-q4-2022/
The full Long-Haul Travel Barometer can be downloaded from ETC’s corporate website here: https://etc-corporate.org/reports/long-haul-travel-barometer-1-2023/