Money Buzz! Europa

Category: Travel

  • The Covid-19 vaccination certificate is not mandatory for travel to Greece

    The Covid-19 vaccination certificate is not mandatory for travel to Greece

    The vaccination certificate will not be a precondition for someone who wants to travel to Greece, said Greek Tourism Minister Haris Theoharis, cited by Novinite.

    Theoharis explained that coronavirus tests will be performed by those who are not vaccinated, but it remains to be seen what will happen, depending on the decisions of the health authorities, who will determine whether the tests will be requested for all visitors.

    He added that Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ proposal to the president of the European Commission was meant to shake the waters so that the EU could coordinate the vaccination issue.

    On Tuesday, Mitsotakis called for the creation of an EU-wide COVID-19 vaccination certificate to help relaunch pandemic-ravaged cross-border travel.

    Greek government announced that it will provide 25 million euros in funding for a tourism promotion campaign, in an attempt to attract more visitors this year.

    Greece’s tourism revenues last year reached 4 billion euros, compared to 18 billion euros in 2019, due to global travel restrictions.

  • Only 2.7 million people visited Louvre Museum in Paris last year

    Only 2.7 million people visited Louvre Museum in Paris last year

    Louvre Museum in Paris was hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic and the number of visitors in 2020 being 72% lower than in 2019, and revenues decreased by over 90 million euros, AFP reports.

    The most visited museum in the world was closed last year for six months, receiving only 2.7 million visitors in 2020, compared to 9.6 million visitors in 2019.

    The absolute record was set in 2018, when 10.2 million visitors were registered.

    In addition, if in a normal year foreign tourists represent 75% of the people who enter the Louvre museum, in 2020 the French accounted for 84% of visitors.

    Lost revenues in 2020 are estimated at over 90 million euros, while aid from the French state amounts to 46 million euros.

  • 69% less foreign tourists arrived in Italy in the first nine months of this year

    69% less foreign tourists arrived in Italy in the first nine months of this year

    In the first nine months of this year, the number of foreign tourists fell by 69%, sending the Italian tourism sector in a ”deep shock”, Reuters reports.

    The number of domestic tourists also fell over the summer, according to Istat.

    Most foreign tourists came to Italy from Germany (47%), while from the US there were almost no visitors.

    The hardest hit regions were the cities and towns on the Mediterranean coast, which saw a 96% decline in foreign tourists in April compared to a similar period in 2019.

    Mountain regions reported a drop of only 9% during the summer.

    The impact of the pandemic on the Italian tourism industry could reach 100 billion euros ($ 118 billion) this year, well above previous estimates, according to recently published studies by tourism groups Confiturismo and Assoturismo.

    The amount represents over 6% of Italy’s GDP at the end of last year.

  • Greece tourism is set to recover next summer

    Greece tourism is set to recover next summer

    Greece’s tourism sector is set to recover next summer said Yannis Retsos, head of the Hellenic Tourism Confederation (SETE), to Reuters.

    The tourism sector in Greece, severely affected by the pandemic, is crucial for the country’s economy, given that it is responsible for about 20% of the GDP and one in five employees works in this field.

    Greece’s tourism revenues stood at 4 billion euros this year, compared to 18 billion euros in 2019, due to global travel restrictions, said Yannis Retsos.

    According to data recently released by the Central Bank of Greece, arrivals of foreign visitors fell by 76% in the first ten months of this year.

    In 2019, Greece registered a record year with over 34 million visitors.

  • Mount Athos is open to pilgrims in the VR Pilgrim app

    Mount Athos is open to pilgrims in the VR Pilgrim app

    Everyone in any corner of the planet can make a trip to the Holy Mount Athos with the VR Pilgrim app, which was launched in June 2020.

    The app is available in Greek, English, Russian and languages ​​for devices based on Android and iOS platforms.

    VR Pilgrim opens an access to the most remote corners of the Christian world, offering virtual travels to Athos, Meteora, Lebanon and Italy.

    Most of the funds received from the subscription are going to support and restore the monasteries at this difficult time.

    Mount Athos, a peninsula in northern Greece and the spiritual heart of the Eastern Orthodox Church, also known as the ”Garden of the Virgin Mary”, will be closed to pilgrims this year until January 10.

    This is due to a strict lockdown imposed by the Greek government on schools, cafes and restaurants, courts, entertainment facilities, ski centers.

    The monastic state of Athos is the second most important religious place of pilgrimage after Jerusalem for more than 300 million Orthodox Christians around the world.

  • The hotel sector in Romania is struggling to survive

    The hotel sector in Romania is struggling to survive

    2020 represented a challenging year for everyone, especially for the hotel sector. The first official COVID-19 case in Romania was announced at the end of February 2020 and was followed by a national lockdown and border closure at the end of March 2020.

    During the summer period, travel restrictions were eased; however, the uptick of COVID cases led the government to reinforce the restrictions and Romania remains in a state of alert.

    The high performance achieved in 2019 was preparing hoteliers for an optimistic year in 2020.

    However, the reality is that the Romanian hotel market recorded an average fall in profit by 73% in YTD October 2020, compared to the same period in 2019.

    In terms of hotel KPIs, YTD October 2020 data revealed by STR shows that Romania achieved an average occupancy of 24% and ADR of RON 293.

    This translates to a 72% decline in RevPAR for YTD October 2020 when compared to the same period in 2019.

    Although projecting performance for such an uncertain period is difficult, according to the current survey, Romanian hoteliers are forecasting an average annual occupancy of 31% for 2021.

    Most of the respondents believe that their properties will achieve a maximum occupancy of c. 40%, while only 7% account for a projected occupancy level of c. 70%.

    In terms of ADR, hoteliers are expecting an average rate of RON 197 in 2021.

    This represents a significantly lower ADR compared to the YTD October 2020 provided by STR, and this lower rate forecasted may be an indication that hoteliers will be focusing on maximizing occupancy during the recovery period, as highlighted in the previous survey.

    Additionally, as the recovery period will be led by domestic travellers, the hoteliers may be strategizing a lower ADR in order to appeal to the domestic segment. 

    Furthermore, 89% and respectively 87% the hoteliers expect the revenue generated from Restaurants and Conference/Event facilities to be highly important when forecasting their hotels’ performance in 2021.

    In third place was the revenue for Spa and Wellness, with 56% of the respondents indicating that this revenue generator is important to support sustainable revenue for their properties.

    While hoteliers are trying to decrease operation costs, the current survey highlights that as of October 2020, an average of 35% of employees have been laid off. Comparing this result with the previous survey performed between April and May 2020, this figure has increased by 6%.

    Therefore, governmental support is urgently needed to protect employment in the hospitality sector to minimize further lay-offs that will impact the livelihoods of people.

    Most importantly, 65% of the respondents reported that without governmental support, their hotels will not be able to survive beyond March 2021.

    In contrast, only 7% of the respondents mentioned that their business can survive for more than one year. Therefore, the survival and recovery of the Romanian hotel sector will remain dependent on governmental support in 2021.

    Recovery and future outlook

    Despite the short-term challenges that the Romanian hotel sector is currently facing, the long-term outlook for the sector remains positive, as evidenced by the robust tourism growth in recent years, healthy pipeline, attractiveness of the country as a leisure and business destination.

    In fact, according to Oxford Economics, the number of nights spent in paid accommodation in Romania is expected to already reach pre-crisis levels by 2023.

    Looking ahead, hoteliers are keeping their morale up, with most respondents indicating their intention to stay open in 2021, as long as no further lockdowns are implemented.

    On the other hand, 20% of respondents are considering closing their hotels during the low season to save costs amid the lack of demand. Some hoteliers, 3%  of the respondents, are planning a strategy shift to change their concept to long-term stays (above 6 months) in 2021.

    Although hoteliers are trying their best to survive this challenging period, it is important to highlight that continued governmental support is imperative to the recovery of the Romanian hotel sector.

    The current survey indicates that 40% of hoteliers believe that a faster recovery can be ensured when travel and interior events restrictions will be eased, and if the government is able to offer financial and wage support.

    Additionally, 10% of the respondents see the benefit of implementing governmental travel incentives which can produce an increase in domestic demand. 

    All results are part of an survey prepared by Cushman & Wakefield in partnership with FIHR, targeting Romanian hoteliers.

  • Ryanair to invest $200m in a new base at Venice Treviso

    Ryanair to invest $200m in a new base at Venice Treviso

    Ryanair new base at Venice Treviso will open on the 30th March 2021, with 2 based aircraft, an investment of $200m, and 45 routes connecting the airport both domestically & internationally to over 20 countries across Europe.

    Ryanair will deliver increased connectivity with the Veneto region across its 3 airports of Venice Marco Polo, Verona and Venice Treviso, with 60 routes in total, that will deliver over 3m customers p.a. and support over 2,000 jobs.

    S21 in Venice Treviso:

    • 2 based aircraft ($200m investment) from 30th March 2021,
    • 45 routes S21 (6 domestic / 39 international),
    • 18 new (3 domestic, 15 international), including leisure and business routes such as Alghero, Alicante, Frankfurt-Hahn, Paphos, Pescara, Riga, Tel Aviv, Thessaloniki, Trapani.

    S21 in Venice Marco Polo:

    • Tot. 6 routes S21 (4 domestic / 2 international),
    • Increased frequencies on 3 routes, including Barcelona (up to 10pw), London Stansted (up to 19pw) and Palermo (up to 12pw).

    S21 in Verona:

    • Tot. 9 routes S21 (5 domestic / 4 international),
    • Increased frequencies on 2 routes, including Birmingham (up to 2pw) and Cagliari (up to 4pw).
  • Slovakia: Tourism industries accounted for a share of 2,74 % of GDP in 2018

    Slovakia: Tourism industries accounted for a share of 2,74 % of GDP in 2018

    In 2018, the tourism industries produced a total value of EUR 9,9 billion and accounted for a share of 2,74 % of total GDP in Slovak economy and slightly increased year-on-year.

    The tourism direct gross domestic product reached the value of EUR 2,4 billion, which represented a year-on-year higher value of 10,8 %, the Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic reported.

    The number of people employed in tourism has been growing continuously since 2013, in 2018 there were 180,7 thousand. Most of them worked in food and beverage services and in passenger transport.

    In total, tourism participants spent almost EUR 5,9 billion (expenditures of domestic and foreigners in the territory of the Slovak Republic as well as expenditures of Slovak citizens on trips abroad).

    Total expenditures increased by 10,2 % year-on-year. The highest part of expenditures of visitors in the territory of the Slovak Republic (domestic and foreign visitors in the Slovak Republic) went to the payments for accommodation and food and beverage services (38 % of expenditures).

    The total number of holiday and business trips within the domestic, inbound and outbound tourism reached the value of 60.9 million trips and increased by 9,5 % year-on-year.

    In Slovakia, domestic visitors and foreigners made a total of 52,6 million trips, of which almost three quarters were same day trips.

  • Bookings for the winter season in Bulgaria have dropped by 40%

    Bookings for the winter season in Bulgaria have dropped by 40%

    Bookings for the winter season in Bulgaria have dropped by 40% compared to last year, says The Sofia Globe.

    Data was revealed by the Minister of Tourism, Mariana Nikolova, in a televised interview.

    Calculations show that imposing severe restrictions on tourist resorts in the winter season will result in losses of one billion levas, Nikolova said.

    The official added that the resorts in Bulgaria comply with all measures required to stop the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19).

    The measures imposed on resorts in Bulgaria are similar to those in major ski destinations, the tourism minister said. ”I don’t think anyone in the tourism industry can afford to risk or make mistakes that could affect the entire sector,” Mariana Nikolova assured.

    Most foreign tourists visiting Bulgaria in the winter season will be from neighboring Balkan countries and will use land transport.

  • Bulgarians traveled more across the border in October 2020

    Bulgarians traveled more across the border in October 2020

    In October 2020, during the continuing epidemic situation in the country, the number of the trips of Bulgarian residents abroad was 493.1 thousand, or by 4.2% above the registered in October 2019.

    In October 2020, the number of arrivals of visitors from abroad to Bulgaria was 419.1 thousand or by 45.3% less in comparison with October 2019.

    A collapse in the trips with all observed purposes was registered: ”holiday and recreation” – by 67.7%, ”professional” – by 57.7% and ”others” (including as guest and passing transit) – by 22.5%.

    Transit passes through the country were 53.1% (222.6 thousand) of all visits of foreigners to Bulgaria.

    The share of visits of ЕU citizens was 44.7% of the total number of foreigners’ visits to Bulgaria in October 2020 or by 53.1% 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 from other European countries decreased by 30.9%.

  • Greece: Travel receipts in September 2020 fell by 71.4%

    Greece: Travel receipts in September 2020 fell by 71.4%

    Travel receipts in Greece, in September, 2020 fell by 71.4% to €826 million, from €2,886 million in September 2019, while travel payments also decreased by 77.1% (September 2020: €49 million, September 2019: €214 million).

    The fall in travel receipts resulted from a 73.9% decline in inbound traveller flows, as average expenditure per trip rose by 12.1%.

    Net receipts from travel services offset 52.1% of the goods deficit and accounted for 72.8% of total net receipts from services.

    Based on Bank of Greece latest data, the balance of travel services in September 2020 showed a surplus of €777 million, compared with a surplus of €2,672 million in September 2019.

    In January-September travel receipts fell by 78.2%

    Travel receipts fell by €12,598 million or 78.2% to €3,509 million, while travel payments also decreased, by €1,371 million or 68.1% to €641 million.

    The drop in travel receipts stemmed from a 2.2% fall in average expenditure per trip and a 77.2% decrease in inbound traveller flows.

    Net receipts from travel services offset 20.3% of the goods deficit and accounted for 50.8% of total net receipts from services.

    In January-September 2020, the balance of travel services showed a surplus of €2,868 million, down from a surplus of €14,095 million in the same period of 2019.

  • Overnight stays in Vienna dropped by 84.5% in October

    Overnight stays in Vienna dropped by 84.5% in October

    Vienna’s overnight stays in October were 84.5% lower than in the previous year and reached only 242,000.

    Most overnight stays were recorded from the domestic market (123,000, -59%).

    The results from the other markets of origin that are the most profitable in the course of 2020 are 30,000 overnight stays (-91%), followed by Italy (9,000, -83%), Great Britain (5,000, -92%), France (6,000, -85%), the USA (4,000, -96%), Spain (3,000, -95%), Switzerland (4,000, -92%), Poland (8,000, -48%) and Russia (2,000, -95%).

    Arrivals fell by 85.3% to 105,000.

    The average occupancy of hotel beds fell to 11.8% (10/2019: 64.7%), those of the rooms to around 15% (10/2019: around 84%).

    A total of around 55,000 hotel beds were available in Vienna in October, which was around 11,000 beds (-17%) less than in the same month of the previous year.

    Between January and October, 4.4 million overnight stays were counted, a decrease of 69.6%.