Greece was among the most popular countries in Europe this summer, receiving as many tourists in July and August as in the pre-pandemic year of 2019. It is followed by Poland with a drop of 9%, Spain – minus 12%, and Great Britain – minus 13% by 2019. Well, Turkey leads the summer ranking.
Air travel to southeastern Europe has significantly exceeded pre-pandemic levels in the peak summer months of July and August. The ForwardKeys service, which has the most complete and up-to-date database on the sale of airline tickets, named the two largest destinations that exceeded the pre-pandemic level of international tourists. These are Turkey and Greece with results of plus 9 and 2 percent, respectively. Air flights to Albania increased by as much as 28%, although in absolute terms this is less than 1% of the European tourist flow.
None of the other major areas recovered to 2019 figures. Slovenia lost only 7%, Iceland – 8%, and Portugal fell 10%.
From urban areas, it reached Istanbul, which recorded a 2% increase in foreign earnings. It is followed by Athens with a drop of 7%, Reykjavik and Porto – by 8%, and Malaga – by 13%.
The main factors behind Turkey’s high performance are the depreciation of the Turkish lira and the openness of its resorts to the Russian market, where direct flights to most of Europe are prohibited. In the summer of 2019, Russians accounted for 4% of all arrivals in the Schengen countries, while in 2022 this figure decreased sharply.
Greece has fared pretty well in terms of tourists throughout the pandemic, having imposed relatively foreign-friendly travel restrictions despite COVID-19.
The USA became the strongest non-European market, receiving only 5% fewer tourists than in 2019. It is followed by Colombia and Israel with a decrease of 9%, South Africa – by 10%, Mexico – by 12%, and Canada and Kuwait – by 13%. In general, markets outside the European continent decreased by 31%.
European destinations could attract more travelers in the summer months if the airline industry was better able to cope with the surge in travel demand in late spring and early summer. If the disruptions could be avoided, there would be five percent more bookings of intra-European flights.
In July and August, air travel across Europe decreased by 26%, but the forecast for the next three months gives positive dynamics. As of August 31, flight bookings were 21% behind the same time in 2019, with Turkey and Greece ahead of 2019 by 20% and 5%, respectively. The next largest number of armors is currently Portugal with a lag of 3%, Iceland – minus 7%, and Spain – minus 15%.