The summer of 2022, on which tourism had placed so much hope, turned out to be the worst summer experienced by tourists in decades. After two years of pandemic closures, those who want to relax en masse rushed to go on vacation, but they immediately faced four negative factors that turned their vacation into a real hell. First of all, this applies to Europe, but fortunately also to America.
Let’s list these 4 negative factors:
First is the air chaos caused by the massive lack of staff at airports and airlines, however, the shortage of employees is also acutely felt in hotels and other entertainment infrastructure and even in taxis at resorts.
Secondly is the rapid increase in prices, including for air tickets, and the strongest inflation in the last 30 years.
The third factor is the killer heat, about which a “red warning” has already been issued in the resort countries of Europe. Such heat makes standing in wild queues at the entrance to airports and other transport hubs a real hell for thousands of tourists.
And, finally, the fourth factor: the problem with the coronavirus, which has not gone anywhere, brings its element of chaos – alarming signals about a sharp increase in the number of cases given by many resort countries. And, if in the previous two years the tourists were simply severely limited in their mobility, this season they faced all the problems face to face.
Consequently, the air chaos continues to seriously affect the tourism industry in Europe. First of all, this concerns Germany, but the problem is not much easier in other countries. The shortage of employees laid off by airlines and airport operators due to the pandemic continues to make life a living hell for tourists: airlines are canceling their flights in various European cities, airports are restricting the movement of planes, and luggage compartments are filled with unsorted luggage – and no relief is foreseen. In Frankfurt alone, more than 20,000 pieces of luggage do not have time to be sorted – it is not uncommon for suitcases, which were planned to be delivered to tourists on vacation a few days after their departure, to wait for their owners after trips at the same airport. At the same time, Fraport CEO Stefan Schulte said: “Although we have hired additional workers, the problem will not decrease in the future.”
Tourists who have reached the resorts, in turn, are met by extreme heat. In France, Spain, and Portugal, at least 360 people have already fallen victim to the heat, a “red warning” has been issued even in Great Britain – where the temperature this week exceeded 40 degrees, which is not usual for the local climate. And Portugal turned out to be the record holder – there the thermometer reached +47 African. “Red warning”, by the way, means that such weather is dangerous to life, and all daily activities should take this into account. Let’s add that the heat is intensified by forest fires and not only that – a curtain of smog covered many European cities, including Rome, which is popular with tourists.
And, finally, the coronavirus – which tourism around the world has tried so hard to forget: cases of the disease are increasing in many countries of the European continent. Germany, England, France, Italy, Spain, Greece, and Turkey – almost all popular resort countries record the growth of Covid-19. Almost everywhere, medical officials fear that a new global wave of the pandemic may occur.