Milou Halbesma, director of the Rembrandthuis Museum in Amsterdam, was surprised that visitors arrived earlier and in larger numbers this year than usual.
Steve Perillo, CEO of US-based travel company Perillo Tours, has seen a surge in bookings for tours to Europe this summer. In previous years, the company’s tour occupancy rate was around 80%. This year, it’s 96%, and the tour is expected to be fully booked in the coming weeks.
Perillo has been thinking about the “blockbuster travel season” since fall 2022, when his company slashed tour prices by 5% for “Black Friday.” “We saw that demand was so high that we should have charged more (instead of discounting the tour),” he said.
Tourists fill the streets of Europe. Photo: Alamy
According to travel insurance provider Allianz Partners, the number of Americans traveling to Europe this summer is expected to increase by 55% compared to 2022. London (UK), Paris (France), Dublin (Ireland) top the list of 10 most popular destinations for visitors. The next names include Rome (Italy), Reykjavik (Iceland), Amsterdam (Netherlands), Lisbon (Portugal).
The European Tourism Commission predicts strong demand for holidays on the continent this year, with more than 50% of destinations expecting to see 80% of 2019 levels.
Rising demand is driving up prices. Fares to Europe are at a five-year high, according to flight tracking website Hopper. A round-trip ticket to the continent costs an average of more than $1,200, up $300 from 2022 and up 26% from pre-pandemic levels, the company said.
Hotel prices are also rising. American Express Global Business Travel, a multinational travel company, predicts that hotel prices will rise the most in Europe in 2023. The three cities expected to see the highest year-over-year increases are Paris (10%), Stockholm (9%), and Dublin (8.5%).
High prices have not dampened demand. European destinations have been packed for weeks. Sold out hotels, packed museums and overcrowded restaurants are becoming commonplace, especially in cities like Barcelona, Rome and Paris.
Milou Halbesma, director of the Rembrandthuis Museum in Amsterdam, was “particularly surprised” by the large crowds that had already arrived before the peak summer season began. “If I look out the window, it’s as crowded as it is in July,” he said. This spring, in preparation for the peak summer season, the museum added five extra staff to help with the July-August rush.
Halbesma hopes to see more cultured tourists, fewer parties and rowdy guests this summer. "Amsterdamers are the nicest, most tolerant and laid-back people in the world . But the (noisy) guests need to tone it down a bit," he said.
Other destinations across the continent, which have featured in popular Netflix and HBO series such as Emily in Paris or The White Lotus , attract many visitors.
According to Expedia , searches for flights to cities in Sicily (where The White Lotus was filmed) have tripled compared to last year. North Carolina-based travel consultant Jenn Rice witnessed the crowds firsthand on a recent trip to Sicily. Rice described the crowds in Palermo, the island's capital, in early June as "absolutely insane," with tourists "spilling out onto the streets like it was Mardi Gras" (one of Italy's most popular festivals). "I've never seen so many people on the streets on a Saturday night. You could barely walk to another bar," Rice said.
In Paris, Arnaud Morandi, senior manager of the 54-room, five-star Fauchon L'Hôtel, said everything was selling out too quickly. "The high-end restaurants, the luxury hotel are booked up, much earlier than usual," Morandi said. The hotel, which opened in 2018, set a record for occupancy when it sold out all its rooms for the summer months of June-August in one day.
To cope with record crowds and high travel costs this summer, many travelers to Europe have been forced to adjust their plans. Rice has turned to ferries and trains to avoid expensive airfares, even on low-cost carriers.
Even people living in Europe are finding it difficult to plan their summer vacations. Sarah Ferguson, an American who has lived in the Netherlands since April 2021 with her husband and four children, found that getting around Europe was becoming more expensive. To avoid high fares, her family decided to drive.
Pola Henderson, a dual American and Polish citizen who has lived in Paris for seven years, has also changed the way she travels around Europe. She used to travel abroad once or twice a month. But this summer, Henderson will travel domestically. "I used to not be able to imagine living without traveling. But now I'm more thoughtful. Traveling is becoming more difficult, not only because of the cost but also because we have to plan ahead," she said.
Traveling during peak season can be a hassle, with delays and cancellations. But few travelers want to cancel their trip just because the place they're going to is too crowded. Rice says what people need to do when traveling during peak summer season this year is "do what you want and go where you want" instead of being swayed by other people's opinions. "For years I've put Venice on my list of places to avoid because it's too crowded. But this year I'm going," Rice says.
Anh Minh (According to CNN )
Source link
Comment (0)