Money Buzz! Europa

Tag: tourism

  • Greece: Travel receipts down by 98.7% in April 2020

    Greece: Travel receipts down by 98.7% in April 2020

    Based on data gathered by The Bank of Greece, the balance of travel services in April 2020 showed an estimated surplus of €5 million, compared with a surplus of €211 million in April 2019, due to the travel restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

    Travel receipts in April 2020 fell by 98.7% to €7 million, from €544 million in April 2019, while travel payments also decreased by 99.2% (April 2020: €3 million, April 2019: €332 million).

    The fall in travel receipts resulted from a 96.2% decline in inbound traveller flows and a 62.2% decrease in average expenditure per trip. Net receipts from travel services offset 0.4% of the goods deficit and accounted for 1.2% of total net receipts from services.

    In January-April 2020, the balance of travel services showed a surplus of €190 million, down from a surplus of €376 million in the same period of 2019.

    Travel receipts fell by €664 million or 51.4% to €626 million, while travel payments also decreased, by €478 million or 52.3% to €436 million.

    The drop in travel receipts stemmed from a 21.5% fall in average expenditure per trip and a 36.1% decrease in inbound traveller flows.

    Net receipts from travel services offset 2.8% of the goods deficit and accounted for 12.5% of total net receipts from services.

    Only 38.000 inbound visitors in April

    The number of inbound visitors in April 2020 fell by 96.2% year-on-year to 38 thousand.

    Visitor flows through airports were almost zero, whereas visitor flows through road border-crossing points declined by 88.3%.

    This overall decrease was due to lower visitor flows from both within the EU27 (down 96.1%) and outside the EU27 (down 96.3%).

    Among major countries of origin, there were only some modest visitor flows from Germany, and those were down 99.2% year-on-year.

    How many inbound visitors from each country were registered from January to April 2020

    In January-April 2020, the number of visitors from Germany fell by 53.0% to 134 thousand, while visitors from France decreased by 71.9% to 34 thousand.

    Turning to non-EU27 countries, the number of visitors from the United Kingdom fell by 43.6% to 117 thousand, while visitors from the United States dropped by 44.5% to 86 thousand and visitors from Russia decreased by 48.1% to 22 thousand.

  • Bulgaria: 94.9% less nights spent in all accommodation establishments

    Bulgaria: 94.9% less nights spent in all accommodation establishments

    In April 2020 only 506 accommodation establishments – hotels, motels, camping sites, mountain chalets and other establishments for short-term accommodation with more than 10 bed-places were open in the country.

    The total number of the rooms in them was 15.0 thousand and the bed-places were 28.6 thousand.

    In comparison with April 2019, the total number of accommodation establishments (functioned during the period) decreased by 75.3% and the bed-places in them – by 81.9%.

    The total number of the nights spent in all accommodation establishments registered in April 2020 was 49.5 thousand, or by 94.9% less in comparison with the same month of the previous year.

    The total revenues from nights spent in April 2020 reached 2.3 million BGN or by 95.5% less compared to April 2019.

  • The number of nights spent by international tourists fell by 99% in Hungary

    The number of nights spent by international tourists fell by 99% in Hungary

    As a result of the coronavirus epidemic, in April 2020 the number of nights spent by international tourists fell by 99% and that of nights spent by domestic tourists by 95% compared to the same period of the previous year in commercial accommodation establishments (hotels, boarding houses, camping sites, bungalow complexes and community hostels).

    Total gross sales revenues declined by 97% at current prices in commercial accommodation establishments, latest data gathered by Hungarian Central Statistical Office shows.

    In April 2020, compared to the same month of the previous year both the number of foreign guests and tourism nights fell by 99%, with 3 thousand guests spending 17 thousand tourism nights in accommodation establishments.

    Guest turnover was negligible for all accommodation types and regions, with the number of tourism nights not reaching 1% of the April value of the previous year in Budapest and the Balaton region.

    18 thousand domestic guests (96% decrease) spent 52 thousand tourism nights (95% decrease), with boarding houses accounting for nearly half of all tourism nights, showing a below average 81% decline.

  • 88.9% less arrivals of visitors from abroad to Bulgaria in April

    88.9% less arrivals of visitors from abroad to Bulgaria in April

    In April 2020, the collapse of the trips of Bulgarian citizens abroad and the visits of foreigners to Bulgaria continued due to the suspension of international flights and the closure of the land borders because of the worldwide spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus.

    In April 2020, the number of the trips of Bulgarian residents abroad was 75.3 thousand, or by 87.9% under the registered in April 2019. In comparison with March 2020 the trips of Bulgarian residents abroad declined by 67.4%.

    In April 2020, the number of arrivals of visitors from abroad to Bulgaria was 81.2 thousand or by 88.9% less in comparison with April 2019. Compared to March 2020, the drop was by 74.1%.

    A collapse in the trips with all observed purposes was registered: ‘holiday and recreation’ – by 99.8%, ‘professional’ – by 84.5% and ‘others’ (including as guest and passing transit) – by 80.6%.

    Transit passes through the country were 62.9% (51.1 thousand) of all visits of foreigners to Bulgaria.

    The share of visits of ЕU citizens was 34.5% of the total number of foreigners’ visits to Bulgaria in April 2020 or by 93.1% less in comparison with the same month of the previous year. A drop in the visits of citizens from all observed countries was registered.

    The visits of foreigners in the group ‘Other European countries’ decreased by 81.5%.

  • Austria: Number of overnight stays in April dropped by 96.5%

    Austria: Number of overnight stays in April dropped by 96.5%

    According to preliminary data by Statistics Austria, the number of overnight stays in April 2020 dropped by 96.5% or 7.92 million compared to April 2019 to 287 000.

    Due to the shutdown of accommodation establishments and border closings since mid of March 2020 almost no overnight stays were registered in the last one and a half months of the 2019/20 winter season.

    The number of overnight stays for the entire winter season 2019/2020 (November to April) fell by 18.1% to 59.72 million and corresponds to the overnight stay volume of the 2006/07 winter season with 59.38 million overnight stays.

    The number of nights spent in the current calendar year 2020 (January to April) decreased by 24.9% to 42.30 million, the number of arrivals by 31.9% to 9.97 million.

  • 62.9% of travel managers intend to reduce the price of package services

    62.9% of travel managers intend to reduce the price of package services

    In May 2020, the National Statistical Institute of Bulgaria has continued the monthly inquiry survey of the managers of accommodation establishments to gather accurate and timely information on the state and development of their businesses during the state of emergency and the ensuing epidemiological situation in the country.

    In the current situation in April, 49.1% of the respondents consider offering their clients an alternative period to use the reservations. At the same time, 62.9% of them intend to reduce the price of package services and 46.7% – the price of night spent.

    As regards to the employees, 37.2% of managers have taken ‘unpaid leave’ as a measure, followed by ‘release/ reduction’- 36.8%, and ‘paid leave’ – 31.7%. 19.8% of the managers have benefited from the ‘60/40’ measure as 10.8% of them have applied ‘remote form of work’ or ‘reduction the salaries of staff’.

    In April, most of the managers (82.3%) report a decrease of revenues from the activity compared to the previous month, and 16.5% of them indicate that there is no change.

    In short term (in the next one month), 40.8% of the managers predict that they will be able to serve ‘up to 50%’ of the expenditures of own account activity, 16.0% of them – ‘up to 100%’, and 42.0% of the respondents indicate that they will not be able to handle by themselves.

  • Poland: 97.5% decrease in the number of tourists accommodated in April

    Poland: 97.5% decrease in the number of tourists accommodated in April

    In March 2020, 881.4 thousand tourists were accommodated and 2.5 million overnight stays were provided, latest Central Statistical Office data show. Compared to March 2019, this was a decrease of 63.3% and 56.7% respectively.

    A drop in the number of tourists was also recorded in April this year. Accord-ing to estimates, the number of persons accommodated was lower by about 97.5% compared to the same month of the previous year.

    The final results of the survey showed that in March this year, 881.4 thousand tourists were accommodated in tourist accommodation establishments with 10 or more bed places, and this is a decrease of almost 1.5 million persons, compared to March 2019 (estimates showed a 65% decrease).

    In comparison with the corresponding period of the previous year, the number of domestic tourists accommodated decreased by 61.7% (from 1.9 million to 722.1 thousand), whereas the number of foreign tourists by 69.1% (from 515.9 thousand to 159.2 thousand).

    The decrease in the number of persons accommodated is due to restrictions on the movement of people and the operation of tourist accommodation establishments, short-term accommodation, as well as spa treatment activities introduced on 14 March, in connection with an epidemic emergency.

  • Slovakia: Total number of visitors decreased by 65% in March

    Slovakia: Total number of visitors decreased by 65% in March

    In March 2020, 151.930 persons stayed in the tourism accommodation establishments in the Slovak Republic, two thirds of which were domestic visitors.

    The sharp decline in the number of guests and the number of overnight stays was the result of an emergency situation caused by the coronavirus.

    The number of overnight stays reached 515.914, of which overnight stays by domestic visitors accounted for more than 70 %.

    Compared to the same period last year, the total number of visitors decreased by 65 %, of which domestic visitors  decreased by 63,9 % and foreign ones by 66,9 %. The number of overnight stays was lower by 56 % year-on-year.

    During March, visitors spent an average of 3,4 nights in the accommodation establishments, including  domestic visitors 3,6 nights and foreign ones 2,9 nights.

    The most visited region was the Žilinský kraj, the total number of accommodated persons was almost 38 thousand, visitors spent the most nights in it, almost 126 thousand.

    Domestic visitors went mainly to the Žilinský and Prešovský kraj, in both regions their number exceeded 23 thousand and the number of overnight stays 80 thousand.

    The highest number of foreign visitors (16,9 thousand) visited the Bratislavský kraj, but they spent the most nights in the Žilinský kraj, where the number of overnight stays of foreign visitors exceeded 45 thousand.

  • Overnight stays in Vienna decreased by 98.2% in April

    Overnight stays in Vienna decreased by 98.2% in April

    Overnight stays in Vienna have shrunk by 98.2% to only 29.000 last month. From January to April, 2.564.000 overnight stays were counted, which means a drop of 46.8%.     

    Since April 4, accommodation businesses have no longer been able to accept leisure guests and the lockdown in mid-March has largely brought business trips to a standstill. 

    Vienna’s accommodation providers registered 29.000 overnight stays in April, 98.2% less than in the same month of the previous year, almost half of which came from Austria. 

    Arrivals decreased by 99.2% to 5.628. The average occupancy of the hotel beds fell to 4.5% (04/2019: 67.5%), that of the rooms to around 6% (04/2019: around 87%). 

    A total of around 17.100 hotel beds were available in Vienna in April 2020, around 74% less than in the same month last year. 

    The turnover of overnight stays by accommodation providers in Vienna fell in March – data for April are not yet available – by 79% to 14.017.000 euros. 

    From January to March, the companies generated EUR 123.654.000, 26.5% less than in the corresponding period in 2019. 

  • Eurostat: How could coronavirus impact EU tourism?

    Eurostat: How could coronavirus impact EU tourism?

    To gauge the potential loss that the tourism sector will have experienced because of the Covid-19 outbreak restrictions, Eurostat examined tourism figures of the previous two years for the periods of March-June (the ‘spring shoulder season’) and July-August (the ‘peak summer season’).

    Spring and summer are the most popular seasons for Europe’s tourism

    Spring and summer are the most popular seasons for Europe’s tourism industry. In 2019, the number of nights spent by residents and non-residents in EU tourist accommodation establishments during the spring and the peak summer season each accounted for nearly one-third (32%) of the annual total for overnight stays.

    The share of nights spent in these accommodation establishments was particularly high in the month of June for the spring season, accounting for 11% of the annual total, as well as in the months of July (15%) and August (17%). A similar trend is observed for both residents and non-residents of the countries visited.

    Across the EU Member States, the share that the spring season contributes towards annual tourism accommodation stays is relatively similar, ranging from 24% in Croatia and 27% in Bulgaria to 35% in Cyprus, Luxembourg, Malta and the Netherlands. For the peak summer season, this share ranged from 23% in Malta to 58% in Croatia.

    390 million trips in spring, 270 million trips during peak summer season

    In spring 2018, EU residents made almost 390 million tourist trips, representing 34% of the annual total. During these trips, they cumulated over 1.8 billion overnight stays and spent €170 billion.

    More than two-thirds (70%) of these trips were inside the country of residence, while 22% of them were trips to other EU countries and 8% to destinations outside the EU. A similar pattern was observed for trips throughout the entire year, including during the peak summer season.

    In summer 2018, over 270 million trips were made by EU residents, accounting for 24% of the annual total. These trips amounted to over 1.9 billion overnight stays and almost €138 billion in tourism spending.

    Spain and Italy top destinations for intra-EU visitors

    The EU residents’ preferred European destinations outside their own country were: Spain, Italy and to a lesser extent France and Germany, which together accounted for 49% of intra-EU trips during spring 2018 and 45% in summer.

    From March to June, Austria dominated the top-5 of preferred intra-EU destinations, in July and August Croatia was among the most popular destinations for EU tourists.

    Luxembourgers prefer to travel abroad during spring and summer

    In 2018, residents of Luxembourg preferred to travel abroad, with almost all their tourist trips (98%) being outside their country of residence in spring and 99% of their trips being abroad during the peak summer season.

    A similar trend was observed for residents in Belgium, where a vast majority of trips during the spring and peak summer season were made outside the country of residence (79%).

    At the other end of the scale, residents in Romania and Spain preferred to travel within their country of residence in spring, making 94% and 90% domestic trips respectively.

    During summer, this was also true for the Greeks, Romanians, Portuguese and Spanish, who took the vast majority of their tourist trips inside their country of residence (95%, 91%, 90% and 89% respectively).

  • The number of overnight stays for guests in Czechia decreased by 16.7%

    The number of overnight stays for guests in Czechia decreased by 16.7%

    In the Q1 2020, the total number of guests in collective accommodation establishments decreased by 22.2%, year-on-year, and the number of overnight stays of guests in collective accommodation establishments decreased by 16.7%.

    In January and February, accommodation was still reporting positive increments. In March, during which providing of accommodation services has been limited, the number of the accommodated dropped by two thirds.

    The number of overnight stays of guests in collective accommodation establishments reached 8.9 million nights in total in the Q1 2020, which was by 16.7% less compared to the corresponding period of the previous year.

    The number of overnight stays of guests from the Czech Republic decreased by 13.1% and the number of overnight stays of guests from abroad decreased by a fifth.

    The number of overnight stays in hotels in total decreased by 18.9%, y-o-y, and in boarding houses by 11%. The number of overnight stays in tourist campsites was halved.

    As for the regional comparison, the numbers of arrivals dropped in all regions. Expressed as a percentage, the deepest drop of guests was in the Jihočeský Region (29.3%), in South Moravia (27.9%), and in Prague (27.4%).

    The highest number of guests from abroad came from Germany

    The numbers of arrivals decreased as for all source foreign markets. In the Q1 2020, the highest number of guests from abroad came from Germany.

    335 thousand of Germans were accommodated in the surveyed collective accommodation establishments, which was by 17.4% less than in the previous year.

    The number of Russians dropped by 11% and Poles by 15%. The number of guests from Slovakia decreased by a fourth. Arrivals of Italians dropped by 40%. The number of guests from China and South Korea more than halved.

  • Number of nights spent by tourists in Hungary fell by 65% in March

    Number of nights spent by tourists in Hungary fell by 65% in March

    As a result of the coronavirus epidemic, in March 2020, the number of nights spent by international tourists fell by 68% and that of nights spent by domestic tourists by 61% compared to the same period of the previous year in hotels, boarding houses, camping sites, bungalow complexes and community hostels.

    Total gross sales revenues declined by 60% at current prices in commercial accommodation establishments.

    In March 2020, compared to the same month of the previous year the number of international tourist arrivals decreased by 74% and of international tourism nights by 68%. 107 thousand guests spent 316 thousand tourism nights in commercial accommodation establishments.

    All accommodation types and regions saw large declines.

    Accommodation establishments in Budapest and Western Transdanubia recorded a decrease of almost 70% in the number of tourism nights. Compared to March 2019, the number of tourism nights fell to a third from Europe and to less than a quarter from Asia and America.

    The number of Russian and Ukrainian tourism nights roughly halved with a lower-than-average decline. Guests from our most important sending country, Germany, spent 62% fewer nights in Hungarian accommodation establishments.

    Domestic arrivals and tourism nights were down by 64% and by 61% respectively to 166 thousand arrivals and 381 thousand tourism nights.

    Compared to March 2019, the number of tourism nights fell by more than half in all regions and by more than two thirds in the Budapest-Central Danube region and at Lake Tisza.