Europe's tourist spots hit as Britons holiday at home
Monday, August 24, 2009 @ 11:42 AM
Traditional European tourist destinations are suffering their worst summer in recent years as Britons opt to holiday at home as the economic crisis takes its toll.
France, which is the world's favourite tourist destination and usually attracts 80 million each year, has been hit the hardest by the drop in foreign travellers.
The number of international visitors has fallen by nearly one third between July and August, according to figures released by the government.
In Spain the number of tourists visiting this summer has fallen by ten per cent compared with last year, government figures show, and visitors are spending less on their holidays than in previous years.
And Italy's tourism industry is forecasting an 8.3 per cent reduction in foreign visitors between May and October meaning there will be 1.5 million fewer tourists on Italian beaches this summer.
A recent Gallup poll revealed that 48 per cent of Europeans plan to spend their holidays in their own countries this year, compared to 43 per cent in 2008.
The fall in the number of tourists from Britain and Germany is said to be the biggest factor behind the figures, as the two countries are Europe's biggest travellers.
British holidaymakers, who have been the mainstay of Spain's tourism industry since the birth of the package holiday in the 1960s, are chief among those staying away.
The number of British tourists visiting Spain fell 16.3 per cent during the first half of 2009 to 6.1 million, a figure that reflects the fall in the value of the pound against the euro.
"This is the worst I have ever seen it. There is no one on the beach," said Pedro Hervas, who sells drinks on the beach in Torremolinos, on Spain's Costa del Sol.
"If you came here last year at this time you would not be able to get around, there would be so many cars and people," said the 57-year-old who has worked on the resort's broadwalk for almost 20 years.
During the first half of the year Spain received 23.6 million foreign visitors, an 11.4 per cent drop over the same time last year, according to ministry of tourism figures.
"Every tourist destination is struggling as a result of the economic crisis," admitted Kate Mentink, the councillor of Tourism and Foreign Affairs in Calvia, on the holiday island of Majorca.
"It's not just a drop in visitor numbers but the fact that those that do come are spending much less than they have in other years. We are facing a shortfall in earnings of at least ten per cent by the end of the year," she said.
Source: The Telegraph