Portugal
Summer holidays are becoming more and more expensive, writes the Portuguese newspaper Jornal de Negócios. A trend felt across Europe, but that doesn’t stop tourists from forgoing cars and clothes rather than cutting back on travel.
According to the article, this year, tourists from the UK, Spain and Germany continue to flock to Portugal for summer holidays, with an increase in the number of Americans and Canadians. In the accommodation sector alone, profits per room have reached historic highs in Lisbon and Porto, with hotel prices rising 31%. On average, after deducting all costs, hotel owners make a profit of 65 euros per room per night.
Spain
In Spain, the unusually hot summer has not dampened the number of tourists. According to El Economista, hotel occupancy rates are up to 93%, room rates are up 15% compared to last summer, and last-minute bookings are 20-30% more expensive. The article explains that this is mainly due to soaring demand, but also partly due to the current inflationary environment.
France
In just two months of the summer, France earned 65 billion euros from tourists, up from 58 billion euros last summer. The number of French people on domestic holidays remained at the same high level as last year, and the number of foreign visitors to France on long-haul flights increased by 29%. According to the newspaper, Asian tourists to France more than doubled compared to last year, but the number was insignificant, because it increased from such a low level.
This summer, tourism in France has been a big hit thanks to the weather. The biggest change in the tourist season is climate change, which has made customers change their choice of holiday destination: never before have mountain holidays sold as well as this summer.
St-Tropez - "tourist mecca" in France
Switzerland
Throughout the summer, each European country has sought to promote tourism in a different way. The Swiss Times quoted a tourism official as saying: “The heat is a risk, but also an opportunity. We want to promote the blue lakes of Switzerland. For those who do not like the heat, a holiday on a Swiss lake is safer than going to the sea.” Swiss cities are adopting a new strategy, emphasizing that tourists can swim in the lakes. Geneva has even branded itself a lake resort.
Like other countries in Europe, Switzerland has also recorded the highest number of tourists ever in a landlocked country with only mountains and lakes.
