Europe and the US are preparing for a tourism boom

According to the European Commission for Tourism, activity in the tourist market in Europe continues to recover, despite such negative factors as disruptions in the work of British transport and the military conflict in Ukraine. Leading European airlines have already announced a sharp increase in tourist activity this summer last week, and US airlines are hiring new employees to cope with increased demand after the coronavirus restrictions are lifted.

Yesterday, May 9, the European Tourism Commission (ETC) published report about tourist activity in Europe and forecast for market dynamics this year. “European tourism continues to regain positions lost during the pandemic. At the end of 2022, the number of foreign tourist arrivals in Europe was still 18% lower than the pre-Covid 2019 year. But despite recent price increases, consumers are reluctant to save big on travel, especially in the second half of the year, the report notes. tourism market, despite the remaining market uncertainty due to the military conflict in Ukraine. In general, European tourism meets 2023 in a fairly stable position. Arrivals data show that in almost one third of countries this indicator exceeded the data of 2019, and in 25% of countries it remains only 10% lower. Serbia (+32%) and Turkey (+21%) took the first places in terms of arrival growth — this was largely due to the influx of Russian tourists who took advantage of the visa-free regime of these countries. In turn, in Finland, a sharp decline in the flow of tourists from Russia led to an overall reduction in international arrivals by 22%.

ETC notes that in addition to the military conflict in Ukraine, another negative factor in the recovery of tourist activity in Europe could be disruptions in the work of British airports and strikes workers in the local transport industry.

Forecasts of market recovery and high activity in the coming summer holiday period were also released earlier by leading European airlines. 3 May Lufthansa Group reported about a 40% increase in its quarterly revenue. The German carrier noted that it carried nearly 22 million passengers in the first quarter, up 64% from the same period a year earlier. The number of flights increased by 37% to over 183,000. The division’s revenue grew by 73% to reach €5.2 billion. Lufthansa Group expects further recovery in the air travel market, growth in demand and increased aircraft load. The company forecasts demand growth in the travel segment to be nearly the same as before the COVID-19 crisis. Two days later, May 5 World Health Organization (WHO) canceled COVID-19 pandemic status.

Also on May 5, the holding company International Airlines Group (IAG), which includes British Airways and Spanish Iberia, reported on record summer flight bookings and raised its 2023 earnings forecast from €1.8 billion to €2.3 billion: “As we return to normal operations, we are increasing investment in our operations. Over the past year, we have already hired several thousand new employees, so now we are ready to meet the peak summer season.”

American airlines also are waiting busy holiday season. United Airlines expects 12% more air travel on Memorial Day (May 29), which in the US is considered the unofficial start of the summer holiday season, than last year and more than it flew on the same day in pre-pandemic 2019 . On the other hand, Delta Airlines statedthat three-quarters of the seats on its international flights this summer are already booked. Due to rising demand, Delta is increasing the number of flights to the most popular international destinations this summer, such as London and Paris.

“We expect this to be one of the busiest summers ever,” said Andrew Pierini, commercial director of Tulsa, Oklahoma International Airport.

In turn, Mike Stengel, a partner at AeroDynamic Advisory, a research and consulting company, notes that against the backdrop of growing demand, American airlines are hiring new employees in almost all positions. “Flight attendants, pilots, ground personnel, reservations employees – everyone is required,” the expert notes.

Evgeniy Khvostik