More Overseas Travelers Visited Europe in 2012

Europe

Europe profited as a tourist destination for overseas travelers last year due to the weak euro and stronger dollar, according to the European Travel Commission (ETC). Many countries saw a strong rise in the number of US visitors, for example.

Moreover, the number of Japanese travellers soared to most parts of Europe as they shook off the impact of the previous year’s earthquake disaster and started travelling abroad again. Chinese travel to Europe has also remained strong in 2012.

For most European destinations, Germany was again a growth source market last year, and the Netherlands was also a solid market while Russia again proved a boom market for many destinations with double-digit growth rates, according to ETC figures.

There was a more mixed picture for British travel to the rest of Europe, with only partial growth for select destinations, due to the uncertain economy. Similarly, French visitor numbers to other European countries are up and down, with a drop in visits to Italy, in particular, as more French opted to holiday within the country in 2012. Unsurprisingly, the number of Italians visiting other European countries slumped significantly last year due to austerity measures.