Comparative data for an initial 58 European cities shows international bednight growth rate at about four times that of domestic bednights. Although relatively modest growth over 2011 was observed due to the Olympics last summer, London claimed the highest number of international tourist bednights in Europe.
European Cities Marketing (ECM), the influential network of leading city tourist offices and convention bureaus, has released their annual ECM Benchmarking Report. Figures prepared by MODUL Research indicate a positive development in international bednights with Russia and China showing the strongest growth as source markets.
Comparative data for an initial 58 European cities (the full report in June 2013 will show data of some 100 cities) shows international bednight growth rate at about four times that of domestic bednights. Although relatively modest growth over 2011 was observed due to the Olympics last summer, London claimed the highest number of international tourist bednights in Europe. Paris and Rome followed London in international tourist bednights, both showing positive growth over 2011. Berlin and Budapest showed the strongest international bednight growth over the previous year at +14.5% and +9.4%, respectively.
As for source markets, Japan shows notable growth after a slight dip in 2011 bednights. Germany, United Kingdom, and USA maintain their footholds as the leading source markets with steady increases over 2011 for the UK and USA and a slight negative growth for Germany. While Spain and Italy sustain positions as important source markets, 2012 figures show notable negative growth relative to 2011.
The ECM Benchmarking Report clearly shows that the continuous success of city tourism in Europe is based upon a rich mix of source markets. With an average of 65 % of international guests, European Cities can cope with negative growth in traditional markets, such as in Spain or Italy due to the economic crisis. The cities’ strategic focus on international visitors is the main reason for the triumph of the cities, which gives City Tourism Managers every reason to be confident in the strength of the European tourism industry.
|
Main Source Markets in |
|
Bednights (in millions) |
||
|
City Tourism in Europe |
|
2011 |
2012 |
change in % |
|
USA |
17.9 |
19.6 |
9.7% |
|
|
Germany |
17.3 |
17.1 |
-0.8% |
|
|
United Kingdom |
14.5 |
15.1 |
4.5% |
|
|
Italy |
13.6 |
13.3 |
-2.3% |
|
|
France |
11.0 |
11.3 |
2,4% |
|
|
Spain |
9.3 |
8.5 |
-8.6% |
|
|
Russia |
6.2 |
7.5 |
20.4% |
|
|
Japan |
4.3 |
4.9 |
13.4% |
|
|
China |
2.3 |
2.9 |
28.5% |
|
|
Total international |
|
205.1 |
213.7 |
4.1% |
|
Total domestic |
|
114.9 |
116.0 |
1.0% |
|
Total international and domestic |
|
320.0 |
329.7 |
3.0% |
Source: European Cities Marketing
Notes: Total refers to tourists staying in all types of accommodation establishments. Forecasts based on the sample of cities reporting their statistics on www.tourmis.info (58 cities provided data for bednights for 2012).
The President of European Cities Marketing, Dieter Hardt-Stremayr, said: “In 2012, international bed-nights grew at about four times the rate of domestic tourism growth in European cities. Bednight numbers representing tourists from BRIC markets such as Russia and China grew tremendously over the previous year, proving once again the importance and potential of these countries as strong source markets for the European tourism industry. Such information can aid destination marketers in deciding where to direct their marketing resources and is the main purpose of the ECM Benchmarking Report.”
The 9th Edition of the ECM Benchmarking Report will be presented and the results will be discussed in depth among the leading city tourism mangers in Europe during the annual conference in Copenhagen in June 2013.
Vicky is the co-founder of TravelDailyNews Media Network where she is the Editor-in Chief. She is also responsible for the daily operation and the financial policy. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Tourism Business Administration from the Technical University of Athens and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Wales.
She has many years of both academic and industrial experience within the travel industry. She has written/edited numerous articles in various tourism magazines.
