After three years of travel restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic and a cost-of-living crisis across Europe, tourism is recovering in Greece and southern European countries as sun-seekers try to make up for lost time, Reuters writes.

Early bookings suggest that Italy, Spain, Greece and Portugal could post record tourism receipts this year, raising hopes that public budgets depleted by the pandemic and anti-inflation measures will get a long-awaited respite.

Added to this is the growing demand for the luxury segment.

“There is an incredible tourism boom in Italy right now,” Carlo Messina, CEO of the peninsula’s largest bank, Intesa SanPaolo, told investors. “It is impossible to find a place in a 5-star hotel if you want to book a vacation,” he emphasized.

Tourism is vital for the economy of Southern Europe.

In 2019, the tourism industry generated €100 billion, or 6.2% of Italy’s GDP, before the COVID-19 pandemic caused unprecedented damage to the sector. If you add in the wider income generated by tourism-related businesses, the figure doubles to 13%.

In Greece, tourism accounts for no less than a fifth of the gross domestic product.

PHOTO: Xinhua/Avalon.red / Avalon Editorial / Profimedia

Greece is preparing for a record number of tourists

The number of foreign tourists who visited Italy increased by 70.5% in the first two months of the year compared to the same period in 2022, according to the National Statistics Agency. It added that if this trend continues, Italy could approach or surpass pre-COVID-19 levels.

In April, Greek Tourism Minister Vassilis Kikilias said that bookings for this summer are already pointing to a new record.

Portugal recorded more than 2.8 million foreign visitors in the first three months of the year, the highest ever for the first quarter of the year, according to official figures.

In Spain, the number of international tourists in the first quarter increased by 41.2% compared to the same period in 2022, exceeding 13.7 million visitors, although still 3.5% less than the same quarter in 2019.

The tourism industry is already benefiting.

Airlines such as Lufthansa, easyJet and Ryanair have confirmed solid bookings for the summer months, with Ryanair, anticipating strong demand, recently ordering 150 new 737 Max-10 aircraft and booking another 150.

PHOTO: Victor Kosmei / HotNews.ro.

Travel agencies are talking about unprecedented numbers this year

German travel company TUI expects solid revenues and higher profits in 2023. The Italians at Alpitour estimated that the turnover will increase by 30% this year.

“We are already seeing very high demand for holiday bookings for Christmas 2023. We are making between 30,000 and 35,000 offers per day, unprecedented numbers,” said Gabriele Burgio, CEO of Alpitour.

In the context of constant inflation and repeated increases in the base interest rate by the European Central Bank, the tourism boom could not have happened at the best time.

While goods producers in Italy and Spain saw demand fall, the services sectors grew for the fourth and sixth consecutive months in April, respectively, also boosted by tourism.

Last week, rating agency Fitch cited a “strong recovery” in tourism in its report on maintaining Italy’s credit rating.

Meanwhile, Portugal’s central bank raised its economic growth forecast for 2023 to 1.8% from 1.5%, largely due to expected “favorable developments” in the tourism sector, despite private consumption almost completely stagnating this year.

The Bank of Greece estimates that the local economy will grow by 2.2% in 2023, well above the eurozone average, thanks to a “favorable forecast” for tourism development.

PHOTO: Dennis Cox / Alamy / Profimedia Images

People are tired of buying goods and sitting at home

Tourists are returning despite obstacles, from strikes that have disrupted travel to concerns about extreme weather events, such as last year’s heat wave in southwestern Europe and current flooding in parts of Italy.

“Travel is the one discretionary expense that people are willing to keep or increase,” easyJet CEO Johan Lundgren said last month.

Some in the industry say people who had no choice during the pandemic to buy goods instead of services are now looking to make up for lost time.

“There seems to be a significant shift in consumer behavior, with holidays taking center stage in consumer priorities, ahead of traditional purchases such as cars, mobile phones and watches,” said Gabriele Burgio of Alpitour at a hotel industry event in Milan.

Also, with the lifting of travel restrictions from China as the country overcomes the wave of the pandemic, some 6 million Chinese tourists are expected to arrive in Europe by the end of the year, according to estimates from the China Foreign Tourism Research Institute. .

Italian travel agency ENIT says it believes a new profile of young Chinese tourists is emerging who want “in-depth travel” that goes beyond a quick tour of the city’s cultural centers.

“The Chinese are now looking at previously ignored destinations such as Sicily, the Cinque Terre (Italian Riviera) and sea destinations that were previously ignored,” the agency noted.