Traveling to Europe is currently too expensive for many Chinese.
(Photo: picture alliance / dpa)
Berlin The mood in the tourism industry is fundamentally optimistic. Numerous studies seem to show that travel is back in fashion after the corona crisis. “It’s so good to be back here after three years,” said David Goodger, Director of the market research company Tourism Economics, this week at the world’s largest tourism trade fair ITB in Berlin .
But there is not only reason to celebrate. While Europeans themselves are already straining their travel budgets again, Europe as a travel destination is still suffering from the consequences of the pandemic. Above all, the guests from far away are missing – especially from Asia, especially from China.
The number of long-distance trips to destinations in Europe is still 43 percent below the pre-crisis level, according to the data presented by Goodger in the Palais am Funkturm. For short-haul trips, for example between European countries, the drop is only 17 percent. This has economic consequences.
Market researcher Goodger calculates that a quarter of Europe as a travel destination depends on guests who travel from far away: “They often stay longer and spend more.” The European Travel Commission (ETC), an organization of the European tourism associations, also complained itself. “We are seeing the recovery, but Europe is lagging behind when it comes to long-haul travel,” said its President Luis Araujo.
After all, business with tourists from North America has started again. “Tour operators selling trips to Europe in the US are reporting that this year they will be back to 2019 levels,” said Tom Jenkins, chief executive of the European Tourism Association (ETOA).
High inflation rate, expensive flights – China tourists’ comeback is delayed
Until the pandemic, however, it was Chinese tourists in particular who had fueled the demand for a hostel. And those who shop in this country particularly gladly and expensively. Between 2010 and the start of the crisis, the volume of travel from China to Europe increased by 350 percent, according to Jenkins. Then – from January 2020 – it was suddenly over.
The strict corona restrictions have been lifted in China. But only a few Chinese are making their way to Europe.
(Photo: dpa)
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The government in Beijing has now given up its strict zero-Covid policy. But hardly anyone in Berlin believes in a short-term rush when traveling to Europe. Recovery yes, but rather slowly, is the prognosis. “We are very cautious about China, maybe we will reach around 50 percent of the pre-crisis level there this year,” says Goodger. Business with trips from China to Europe will not have fully recovered until 2025.
Many households in China have also suffered economically from the strict corona measures. With the currently very high inflation, it is hardly possible for them to fly to Europe. Especially since air travel currently costs a lot of money. The abrupt reversal in Chinese corona policy caught the airline industry off guard, and the range of international flights in China is only slowly being ramped up again.
In addition, many countries in Europe require Chinese tourists to have a visa. The award takes a long time because the systems are complex and there is a lack of staff. “In tourism, a small event is enough to mess everything up,” said market researcher Goodger.
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After the bomb attack on the Berlin nightclub La Belle in 1986, for example, demand from the USA plummeted by 50 percent. “We currently have several such potentially negative factors.” That makes forecasts so difficult.
ETC President Araujo sees European destinations as having a duty to increase their attractiveness for long-distance travellers. Europe doesn’t just have the Eiffel Tower to offer: “We have to show the whole diversity more strongly.” And another important task awaits Europe’s governments: They have to ensure that people who are hungry for travel have the chance to land here at all.
Airports and airlines are working at the limit
The aviation system was already at its limit before the pandemic, and it got even worse during the crisis. Lufthansa is cutting the summer offer in Frankfurt, the airport is suffering from staff shortages. “It will be challenging in Frankfurt,” said CEO Carsten Spohr last Friday.
At the same time, the first governments are pushing ahead with rigid measures on the subject of climate protection. The maximum number of permitted flights at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol is to be gradually reduced from 500,000 to 440,000 annually by next year. This has angered the affected airlines KLM, Delta Air Lines, Corendon, Easyjet and Tui so much that they now want to prevent the requirement with an injunction.
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