The healthy state of European city tourism is driving a concentrated move towards airport expansion across the continent, according to the new
The healthy state of European city tourism is driving a concentrated move towards airport expansion across the continent, according to the new
Amsterdam Schipol passenger traffic grew by 7.5% in 2000 – new runways and terminal expansions will raise capacity to 44 million by 2002
Athens Eleftherios Venizelos airport opened in 2001 in preparation for the Olympics, with the eventual aim of handling 50 million passengers a year
Barcelona have new development plans in place to boost capacity to 40 million
Schonfeld airport will be redeveloped to become Berlin Bradenburg International by 2008
New terminal to increase capacity at Budapest Ferihegy to 9 million by 2003/04
In Dublin, a new terminal development in 2001 will expand capacity to 20 million
Madrid Barajas Airport`s new terminal doubled handling capacity in 1999 to 42 million
Nice-Riviera airport is in the midst of an expansion programme and halfway to accommodating 20 million by 2020
Rome`s Fiumicino airport opened a new terminal in 2000
A new terminal construction in Vienna aims to accommodating 26.6 million passengers by 2015
Hotel Stock Also Expanding
Additional infrastructure developments are evident in the hotel sector. Amsterdam, which currently has the highest occupancy rates of the 15 cities surveyed (see table), is looking to increase capacity by 20% by 2005, focusing on out-of-centre and modestly priced establishments. London, second by occupancy, plans an additional 10,000 rooms by 2006 and Berlin hotel stock will grow by 50% in the next two-to-three years. Athens, which has the special circumstances of the Olympic Games in 2004 to consider, has pledged the development of 23,000 new rooms. Additionally, Edinburgh is projecting a 28%growth in capacity by 2005.
Business Travel Increasingly Significant
While the development of innovative leisure attractions in part explains the strength of the urban tourism market, the business travel element is increasingly important for many cities, suggests European City Reports. In 2000, two-thirds of stays in registered accommodation in Berlin was by business travellers; in Brussels (1999), this sector accounted for 55.8% of all arrivals. In Munich the business arrivals figure was also over 50% of the total. Another indicator of the importance of the business travel market to various cities is the most popular month for tourism. While for Amsterdam, Barcelona, Budapest and Nice the busiest month is August, for Berlin and Brussels it is October and September respectively.
The conference and congress sector is another area where considerable capital investment is being used to provide facilities that will secure the market. In Barcelona, the new Conference Centre of Catalonia is under development; in Budapest (currently ranked as 4th most significant city in the World by meetings, see table on next page), the new 6,000-seat Convention Centre, due for completion by 2003, is one of four new developments; and Nice will see the construction of the new Zenith Exhibition Centre.
Rising Stars
It is not surprising, in view of the considerable inward investment from which it is benefiting, that Berlin is showing strong growth in arrivals numbers. There was an increase of 16.8% in the course of 1999, and a further 26.9% in the first eight months of 2000. Arrivals to Dublin, which saw strong growth throughout the 1990s, grew 7% in the last year of the decade.
Tourist arrivals in Barcelona grew by an astonishing 41.5% in the two years immediately following the city`s hosting of the Olympics in 1992, and Athens is hoping for a similar windfall from the event in 2004. Madrid is also looking to replicate its arch-rival`s success, and its bid for the 2012 Olympics represents an important part of that strategy.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
