ITB World Travel Trends Report forecasts rising figures for European tourism – Conflicts cause tourists to play safe – Latest surveys by the IPK World Travel Monitor published exclusively by ITB Berlin.
BERLIN, PISA – Europeans will keep travelling abroad in 2016 but could favour safer destinations amid continuing conflicts and attacks around the world, according to tourism experts. However, it is too early to assess the potential impact of the current refugee crisis on outbound travel next year. These were some of the results of the 23rd World Travel Monitor Forum in Pisa, Italy (October 26 – 28).
This year the number of outbound trips made by Europeans increased by about 4.5 percent over the first eight months, according to preliminary World Travel Monitor results from IPK International. This once again represented good growth following a rise of 3 percent in 2014 and similar low single-digit growth rates in the last few years. Overall, European outbound travel grew by 13% from 2009 to 2014, reaching a total of 444 million outbound trips last year.
However, demand for different destinations fluctuated strongly this year, with some countries in southern Europe, North Africa and the Middle East suffering in particular. Dr Martin Buck, Messe Berlin’s Senior Vice President, commented: “Many destinations have faced problems this year, keeping travellers away, sometime in droves. European tourists are choosing safer destinations, and in some cases they are even shifting from international trips to holidays within their country.”
One result was stronger demand for destinations within Europe. For example, the number of international arrivals in Europe grew by 5 percent between January and August this year compared to an overall 2.4 percent rise in 2014 and ahead of the expected 3-4 percent growth for this year, according to UNWTO figures. Indeed, about 85 percent of international trips made by Europeans are to destinations within Europe, according to World Travel Monitor figures.
Looking ahead to next year, IPK currently predicts a 2.8 percent rise in European outbound travel, based on IPK’s European Travel Confidence Index which measures travel intentions for the next year. According to the index, 70% of Europeans are looking ahead positively and want to travel at least as much in 2016 as this year. Confidence is highest in the UK and Spain (both +6 percent), Poland (+4 percent) and Germany (+3 percent), indicating good growth ahead for those source markets next year. In contrast, French consumers are only slightly more optimistic about their travel intentions for 2016, while confidence is lower in Russia and Italy (both -2 percent).
Tourism experts discussed intensively at the Pisa forum whether the current flood of refugees would impact on European travel demand, and what it might mean for European destinations. “The refugee crisis hasn’t yet started to influence travel behaviour and we will still have to wait and see,” said Rolf Freitag, IPK International president. However, one example could serve as a warning for the travel industry. “Munich’s world-famous Oktoberfest had 400,000 fewer visitors this year and tourism receipts were about 60 million Euros lower because the event coincided with the peak of refugee arrivals in the city,” he pointed out. According to Munich city council, the total number of visitors dropped to 5.9 million this year from 6.3 million in 2014.
At the annual World Travel Monitor Forum in Pisa, initiated at the invitation of consultancy IPK International and supported by ITB Berlin, more than 50 tourism experts and academics from around the world presented the latest figures and current trends in international tourism. Additional results of IPK International’s trend surveys from January to August 2015 together with the estimates of 50 tourism experts from more than 20 countries and the key data from the World Travel Monitor are published exclusively by ITB Berlin. The detailed results will appear at the beginning of December in the ITB World Travel Trends Report.
The World Travel Monitor final results for the year, including the latest outlook for 2016, will be presented at the ITB Convention by Rolf Freitag, President of IPK International. The World Travel Monitor is based on representative interviews with more than 500,000 people a year in more than 60 travel markets worldwide, and has been regularly conducted for more than 20 years. It is recognised as the largest continuous study into global travel patterns.
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.
