International Tourism in Europe Was Increasing Rapidly in Pre-Pandemic Levels, Data Shows
Tourism in Europe was experiencing a boom in domestic arrivals in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic started, witnessing a 1.3 per cent increase in the number of arrivals since 2015.
According to Statista, the data provider, there were 943 million domestic arrivals recorded in the zone throughout 2019, up by 1.8 per cent compared to the previous year when 926 million guests were recorded, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.
The increase recorded between 2018 and 2019 in domestic visitors also represented the highest recorded in the recent five years, with this figure being on a positive trend since 2015. More specifically, the number of domestic tourists increased by 1.6 per cent in 2016 – from 897 million to 912, to further jump by 0.3 per cent in the following year.
A similar positive trend has also been noticed in international arrivals, which were up by 2.6 per cent, from 419 million in 2018 to 430 million in 2019. Similarly, the number of international arrivals kept increasing from 400 in 2017 to 419 in the following year, accounting for a 4.75 per cent increase.
Moreover, from 2015 to 2016, the number increased from 359 million to 373 million, recording a 3.9 per cent increase. In general, international arrivals were up by 4.6 per cent, from 2015 to 2019.
Eurostat, the European Office for Statistics, has recently revealed that tourism in 2022 is close to pre-pandemic levels, only lagging behind by 14 per cent.
The same source reveals that a total of 1.01 billion overnight stays were recorded, down from 1.8 billion recorded in 2019. Additionally, the number was absolutely more positive compared to 2020 levels when only 474.4 million overnight stays were recorded. Similarly, data was up by 2021 levels, too, as only 406.8 million overnight stays due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Furthermore, April experienced the highest surge in the number of overnight stays, which increased by 302 per cent, peaking at 177.6 million overnight stays, up from 44 million nights spent in April of 2021. During this period, the European countries started to open their doors after almost two years of no travelling and other activities due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The same report for Eurostat highlights that during the first half of 2022, domestic tourism exceeded international travel rates, with 56.7 million nights being recorded by domestic tourists in January to 152.4 million in June. International tourists, on the other hand, the number of nights spent by foreign arrivals stood at 32.7 million in January and increased to 137.2 million in June.
