The most recent CityDNA Barometer Report, which is drawn from the latest air ticketing data by ForwardKeys, suggests that the European travel and tourism sector is very promising for the final quarter of 2023.
According to this report from ForwardKeys, Southern European destinations are approaching pre-pandemic levels in the last three months of this year.
Cities like Lisbon and Athens have seen a remarkable 13 per cent increase in arrival numbers in Q4 of this year. This is followed by Madrid, which has witnessed a nine per cent increase, Istanbul saw four per cent, and Milan saw a two per cent increase.
In the first three quarters of this year, Athens had already demonstrated a remarkable six per cent increase in visitor numbers when compared to pre-pandemic levels, while Lisbon managed to achieve pre-pandemic levels in the same quarter.
Seat capacity for international travel to Europe nearly reached pre-pandemic levels during Q3 and is on an upward trend ahead of Q4 – a much-needed stimulus for travel to take off again across Europe.
Furthermore, Spain’s travel market is rebounding faster than the global average, with studies also indicating a significant bouncing back in the country’s cultural tourism, which is now approaching or surpassing pre-pandemic levels.
In particular, departures to other European countries have increased by six per cent when compared to the same quarter in 2019.
Ponti also believes that the air travel capacity and demand surge will help many of the Southern European countries return to pre-pandemic levels.
“This increase in air supply is so far met by a sustained increase in demand, which we expect will push many destinations back to pre-pandemic levels while overall volumes continue their recovery towards 2024”, the statement of Ponti reads.
Moreover, London, Dublin and Rome are also making steady progress, increasing to the list of the most improved travel destinations.
London ( with only a two per cent decrease), Dublin (also with a two per cent decrease), and Rome (with a three per cent decrease) are also expected to come close to their pre-pandemic arrival figures.
There is a significant sense of optimism for the current year regarding the tourism industry’s recovery, with strong expectations that the travel and tourism sector within the European Union will make a remarkable recovery, potentially reaching up to 98 per cent of the pre-pandemic levels.
