The European Travel Council has revealed that the number of international arrivals and nights spent across the EU member states has been relatively low, mainly due to restrictions imposed for COVID-19.
Furthermore, the countries with the sharpest decline in international arrivals were Czechia (-94.2 per cent), Spain (-88.7 per cent), Slovakia (-86.6 per cent), Latvia (86 per cent) with Belgium and Finland having each a drop of 86 per cent, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.
In addition, countries affected less by the restriction for having international arrivals included Croatia (-36.5 per cent), Montenegro (-43.5 per cent), and Luxembourg (-44.7 per cent).
On the other hand, the number of international nights spent in EU member states stood at a similar rate, with the Czech Republic again being mostly affected, marking a drop of 94.1 per cent in international nights spent at accommodation facilities, followed by Germany (88.5 per cent), Slovakia (-85.8 per cent) and Latvia (-85.7 per cent).
Furthermore, the countries to be affected somewhat less than others include Greece (-19.3 per cent), Croatia (-24 per cent), Serbia (-42.7 per cent) and Monaco (-44.7 per cent).
Countries in the middle, recording significant declines in tourist nights spent in respective countries, include: Malta (-50.1 per cent), Denmark (-55.9 per cent), Slovenia (-63.1 per cent) and Italy (-69.8 per cent).
For the remaining countries, Iceland marked a decrease of 71.6 per cent in international arrivals of 2021 compared to 2019, approximately close to declines recorded in international nights spent at Norway’s accommodation facilities for the same period (-76.6 per cent).
In addition, Switzerland witnessed a decrease of 78.4 per cent in international arrivals and -74.4 per cent in tourists’ nights spent there. While Turkey’s international arrivals halved for the time being (-54.6 per cent), Serbia’s international arrivals dropped even further, marking a 56.1 per cent decrease, whereas international nights fell by 42.7 per cent.
In general, ETC’s report shows that travellers’ inbound visits are anticipated to reach 15.4 per cent globally, further increasing by 119.6 per cent in 2022. Outbound arrivals are expected to reach 120.9 per cent in 2021 and drop to 15.2 per cent by 2024.
However, the European inbound arrivals are expected to reach 13.9 per cent by the end of the year and 107.1 per cent by the upcoming year. However, the increase in such tourism is anticipated to differ by only 9.7 per cent in 2024.
Outbound tourism is expected to perform better, reaching 23.5 per cent in 2021, followed by 105.3 per cent in 2022, ending up with a ten per cent increase in 2024.
