Brussels, 13/05/2013 (Agence Europe) - The European Travel Commission (ETC) expects demand for tourism in the European Union to remain strong in 2013. Figures for the first quarter of 2013, “European Tourism in 2013: trends and prospects”, published on 8 May, indicate that, although international arrivals and nights to Europe for the first months of 2013 are slowing down slighly, there is continued growth for most of the reporting destinations. 2012 was particularly positive and the slight slowdown during the first three months of 2013 is not expected to encroach on the good health of the tourism sector, which remains dynamic, according to the ETC. Eduardo Santander, Executive Director of the European Travel Commission, believes that this growth is particularly welcome in this period of economic headwinds and he called for incentives to stimulate further demand in the medium term, particularly by easing visa requirements and reducing taxes that affected the tourism industry.
For the remaining nine months of 2013, the performance of European destinations will largely depend on the economic developments on national markets. The ETC is expecting long-haul flights will drive growth and statistics suggest further growth in tourists coming from the US. The forecasts are also good for travel from Japan. On the emerging markets, the ETC expects Chinese tourism to increase in Europe. Tourism from India remained weak compared to Chinese demand at the beginning of 2013 but is expected, nevertheless, to continue to make progress during the rest of the year. (IL/transl.fl)