According to the European Travel Commission’s (ETC) latest quarterly ‘European Tourism Trends and Prospects’ report, destinations across Europe continue to show increasing numbers of tourist arrivals, although the rate of expansion was slower than previous years. Europe enjoyed a 4 percent increase in tourist arrivals in 2019, the 10th consecutive year of growth, following the strong performance in 2018 (+6 percent).

The statistics were provided by the January 2020 UNWTO World Tourism Barometer.
The overall regional performance remains in positive territory however, challenges are posed by geopolitical tensions and weaker global economic activity. Increasing numbers of tourist arrivals generate income and support employment and investment in Europe, not only acting as a catalyst for economic expansion, but also contributing to and demonstrating the social and cultural value in the region.

Canadian travellers contributed towards strong expansion in tourist arrivals for Turkey (+30%) and Slovakia (+25%). Slovenia and Lithuania both registered a remarkable 18% increase in Canadian tourists. Other top performers were Cyprus (+15%), Montenegro and Austria (both +13%) and the UK (+11%) recording double-digit growth in arrivals from this market.

On the other hand, there were some steep falls in travel from Canada to some European destinations in 2019. Iceland saw a 30% decline in tourist arrivals, while Latvia and Poland experienced decreases of 16% and 14% respectively. In total, nine countries recorded flat growth in either arrivals or overnights from Canadian tourists in 2019.

Looking to the future, annual average growth of travel from Canada to Europe is forecast to be 3% over the five- year period 2018-2023.

Regionally, destinations in Northern Europe (+5%) are expected to benefit the most from the increase in the flow of Canadian travellers. Western Europe is predicted to see a 4% growth during this period, while Southern Europe and Central/Eastern Europe are expected to see a 2% and 1% increase respectively.

Dana Welch, Chair of ETC’s Canada Chapter, commented “Great to see the overall increase for the 10th consecutive year of 4%. With the current landscape, it remains critical for the ETC to work closely with our travel trade partners in Canada to remain competitive. We look forward to working closely together to help support continued growth from Canada.”

Check the full report.