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EU-China tourism blooming

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The European Travel Commission (ETC) revealed Chinese air travel trends as part of the framework of the 2018 EU-China Tourism Year.

The findings of the first report indicate that Chinese tourism to Europe is increasing. In the first four months of this year, Chinese arrivals in Europe were up 9.5 per cent on the equivalent period last year and forward bookings for the period May-August are currently 7.9 per cent ahead. These numbers show Europe to be gaining market share from the rest of the world, as the comparable worldwide figures for Chinese arrivals are 6.9per cent up for the first four months and 6.2 per cent ahead for May-August.

The top destinations, in size order, are, Germany, up 7.9 per cent and France, up 11.4 per cent. In terms of growth, the stand out destinations were Turkey, up 74.1 per cent, Ukraine, up 27 per cent and Hungary, up 15.2 per cent and current bookings for the May-August period are even more promising with Turkey ahead 203.6 per cent, Ukraine ahead 38.4 per cent and Hungary ahead 24.8 per cent.

Looking at current bookings for the main summer months of July and August, Europe as a whole is 13.3 per cent ahead. France is set to overtake Germany for the no.2 spot, with bookings running 29.2 per cent ahead of last year. In terms of growth, Central and Eastern Europe steals the show, with bookings currently 32.5 per cent ahead of last year. It is followed by Southern Europe, 28.5 per cent ahead, Western Europe 18.4 per cent ahead and Northern Europe 4.7 per cent ahead.

Current Chinese bookings for Russia, during the World Cup finals are generally well ahead of last year but there is an extraordinary peak during the week of June 14, which coincides with Dragon Boat Weekend, when bookings are 173 per cent ahead! There is also a trough during the week of July 12, coinciding with the World Cup final, when bookings are 17 per cent behind.

Eduardo Santander, Executive Director European Travel Commission said, “We firmly believe that monitoring Chinese air travel trends will help the European tourism industry better understand Chinese visitors and enable it to offer them the best experiences. Doing so will reinforce ETC’s and the European Commission’s efforts to secure Europe’s position as the No.1 tourism destination worldwide.”

The findings are based on global air reservation data from ForwardKeys, which monitors 17 million booking transactions a day. ETC’s research provides a detailed picture of the social and macroeconomic environment to help Europe’s tourism industry tap into the high potential of the Chinese outbound travel market.

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