Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Understand how factors af ect the
development and decline of the
European travel market
SECTION 4
The travel and tourism sector has undergone signifi cant
changes in recent years - from natural disasters and
terrorist outrages to the growth of the internet and
concerns about the environmental impacts of tourism.
As the world's most popular tourist region, t
he
s
e
factors have impacted considerably on European
tra
v
el
destinations. Europe's share of world tourist arr
i
vals has
been declining in recent years - the result of the trend
towards more long-haul travel, increased advertising
and promotion by destinations outside of Europe
and the lack of suffi cient i
n
vestment in marketing
by some countries within Europe. In this section we
investigate the factors
th
a
t affect the development of
the European travel market, starting with the growth of
leisure travel.
Grow
t
h of leisure travel
Adventure tourism is a growing market
Lei
s
ure travel from the UK to continental Europe has
g
r
own steadily over the last 25 years at an average
annual rate of 3.5 per cent. Figures from the Offi ce for
National Statistics (ONS) indicate that holidays taken
by British people in Europe grew from just over 19.5
million in 1984 to 45.9 million in 2009. There was,
however, a sharp fall of more than 15 per cent between
2008 and 2009, due to the worldwide recession and
unfavourable exchange rates for UK tourists looking to
holiday in Europe.
Increasing interest in health and fi tness has led to a
growing demand for activity holidays and adventure
tourism in European destinations, such as walking,
white-water rafting, canyoning, cycling and canoeing.
New products and services
Much of the recent growth in travel between the UK
and countries in continental Europe has been fuelled
by the growth of the low-cost airlines, which has been
one of the most signifi cant developments in European
travel and tourism over the last two decades. From a
total of just 4 million passengers carried by low-cost
airlines in 1996, Ryanair and easyJet between them
are forecast to carry 120 million travellers in 2010. The
low-cost carriers have had a signifi cant impact on the
airline industry generally and have revolutionised the
way British people travel for holidays, visiting friends
and relatives, short breaks and on business. Low-cost
Short breaks to Europe are increasingly popular with
British tourists, either fl ying or using the Eurostar rail
service from London. Cities are especially popular for
European short breaks, offering visitors a wide range
of tourist facilities in close proximity to each other,
such as accommodation, entertainment, eating places,
attractions and tourist information centres. European
cities that have shown rapid growth in tourist numbers
in recent years include Paris, Barcelona, Prague, Berlin,
Tallinn and Krakow.
