Italy, Spain, and Greece are hot summer tourist destinations in Europe, overloaded with tourists despite rising costs.
The biggest influx of visitors to Europe this summer has been from the United States, as the dollar has risen. Some are traveling on “revenge tourism,” using pandemic savings to ignore the high prices of airfares and hotels during peak season. American tourists’ spending on duty-free shopping in Italy increased by more than 74% in the first three months of the year compared to the same period in 2019.
Lauren Gonzalez, 25, arrived in Rome this week with four friends. For 16 days, they will be traveling through the Italian capital of Florence and the coast after three years of living only in the United States. Gonzalez has saved up a lot of money and wants to take a meaningful trip with friends, so travel costs are not an issue for him. Traveling during the peak season, he and his friends accept the crowds.
The Trevi Fountain in Rome was packed with visitors on June 30. Photo: Andrew Medichini/AP
The summer travel glut was expected, but overall tourist arrivals to and from Europe are down 10% compared to 2019, according to the United Nations World Tourism Organization. That’s partly due to lower arrivals in Eastern European countries like Ukraine, Lithuania, Finland, Moldova and Poland. In addition, Chinese tourists have not fully returned. Flights from China and other Asia- Pacific countries to Europe are down 45% compared to 2019, according to travel data firm ForwardKeys.
Tourism-dependent Greece is expected to welcome 30 million visitors this year, still below the record of 34 million in 2019. However, so far, the number of flights has increased and tourist hotspots such as Santorini and Athens have continued to welcome visitors.
Spain's tourism minister, Héctor Gómez, called this year's holiday season "a historic summer for tourism" with 8.2 million tourists arriving in May alone, breaking the record for the second consecutive month. However, some hotel groups said bookings had slowed somewhat in the first weeks of the summer, due to sharp increases in airfares and room rates.
Travel costs are rising, with flights from the U.S. to Europe up 2% from 2019 levels, according to ForwardKeys. In Italy, lodging costs in Florence are up 53% from last year, Venice is up 25%, and Rome is up 21%. Even gelato will cost 21% more due to rising sugar and milk prices.
The return of tourists has brought a big boost to the tourism industry, but the destinations are facing overcrowding. Alessandra Priante, director of the European division at the United Nations World Tourism Organization, said the pandemic has forced the industry to rethink how to develop sustainable tourism. The current tourism boom can have an impact on the environment and heritage.
Tourists flock to the ancient ruins of the Acropolis in Athens, Greece, July 4, 2023. Photo: AP
Bernabo Bocca, president of the Italian hotel association Federalberghi, said the surge in tourists in Rome has left taxi lines overloaded and city buses unable to keep up with the demand.
The surge in visitors has also fueled a boom in short-term apartment rentals in Europe, with rooms filling up fast. The mayor of Florence, Italy, has restricted short-term rentals in the historic center, which is protected as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Residents are also renting out rooms in homes in need of preservation in Venice.
Students in these areas cannot find affordable rental housing because landlords reserve their rooms for tourists. In addition, the declining population of Venice means a lack of local tourism services.
Venice is delaying plans to charge tourists a day-trip fee. Analysts say that even with a tourist fee, the city will still be overcrowded, with more tourists than locals.
Bich Phuong (According to AP )
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