Money Buzz! Europa

Tag: travel

  • 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.

  • 91% less passenger vehicles crossed Eurotunnel in april 2020

    91% less passenger vehicles crossed Eurotunnel in april 2020

    In the context of the lockdown measures imposed by the French and British governments on the 17th and 23rd March respectively, prohibiting all travel considered to be non-essential, Eurotunnel focused on ensuring the supply of critical goods between France and the United Kingdom via its Truck and Passenger Shuttle services.

    This restriction does not apply to cars and vans travelling in the Passenger Shuttles, as drivers and passengers remain in their vehicles during the crossing, without coming into direct physical contact with staff or passengers.

    Le Shuttle Freight carried almost 80,000 trucks in April 2020, mainly due to the resilience of demand for food, pharmaceutical and e-commerce goods.

    With an average of 4 departures per hour, Le Shuttle is better adapted to this type of product than maritime transport. Since 1st January, more than 466,000 trucks have crossed the Channel using our Shuttles.

    In April 2020, the Passenger Shuttles carried almost 20,000 passenger vehicles. This figure should be seen in light of the very severe restrictions in relation to border crossings imposed by the French and British governments.

    Since 1 January, almost 440,000 passenger vehicles have crossed the Channel on board of Passenger Shuttles.


         		April 20April 19ChangeJan- April 2020Jan- April 2019
    Truck ShuttlesTrucks79,474119,563-34%466,722
    Passenger ShuttlesPassenger vehicles19,682227,393-91%439,854