Long-Distance Travellers’ Desire to Visit Europe Unaffected by War in Ukraine
In a statement issued on Wednesday, May 25, the ETC also stressed that the desire to travel had improved slightly compared to a year ago, AtoZSerwisPlus.com reports.
“The LHTB from the European Travel Commission (ETC) and Eurail BV examines travel intentions in six overseas markets – Brazil, Canada, China, Japan, Russia, and the United States every four months. Intention to travel is measured in an index that reflects the dominant sentiment expressed by a market, either positive or negative,” the statement reads.
Meanwhile, values ??above 100 index points indicate a positive evolution, while those below 100 indicate negative attitudes towards travel in a certain period.
Given the conflict between Ukraine and Russia, which has created new challenges for the European travel sector, the same has had a limited impact on sentiment in most long-distance source markets. In addition, countries like China and Russia stand out, where 76 per cent of respondents said the conflict did not affect their purpose of travel.
In this regard, ETC President Luís Araújo said he was pleased to see that long-distance travel is gradually improving, adding that it is encouraging that the ongoing conflict in Ukraine has not become another obstacle to international travel in Europe.
“Europe remains a safe and attractive travel destination. Nonetheless, the fallout from the conflict, such as rising living costs and travel-related costs, are hampering the sector’s recovery. Promoting Europe in overseas markets and restoring international mobility will be crucial for the sector’s recovery in 2022,” he also pointed out.
Due to the ongoing war in Ukraine and the subsequent sanctions imposed on Russia, the desire of Russian travellers to visit Europe reached the lowest level recorded by about 78 points. This means that it is significantly lower than the feeling expressed during the wave of the first COVID-19 that in 2020, during the months from May to August, turned out to be 87 points.
As for Chinese travellers, the ongoing conflict has prevented about 19 per cent of them from visiting Europe.
However, the desire to visit Europe has increased slightly, which means + six points compared to last summer.
Yet, the Russian invasion of Ukraine has caused insecurity among travellers as a large number of tourists are already cancelling their planned trips to countries bordering Russia and Ukraine, including here the Baltic region.
Executive Director of the Latvian Association of Hotels and Restaurants, Santa Graikste, said that hotel reservations were cancelled at a rate of about 60 per cent in Latvia.
Meanwhile, the executive director of the Lithuanian hotel and restaurant association, Egle Lizaityte, stressed that Lithuania has a similar situation to Latvia as it has cancelled a large number of hotel reservations. According to him, most of the reservations came from Germany, the United States and Asia.
According to the latest data from the ETC, on April 16, despite the ongoing war in Ukraine, travel preferences for Eastern European destinations continue to remain the same as in 2021.
The report also reveals that about 77 per cent of Europeans have already made travel plans between April and September 2022. Meanwhile, 56 per cent of them plan to visit another European country, and another 31 per cent choose domestic travel.
