European Tourism Suffers The Second COVID Wave (E-Hotelier Report)

A new surge in Covid-19 cases and the reintroduction of travel restrictions have halted European tourism recovery with international tourist arrivals to Europe down 68% halfway through the year relative to 2019.

European tourism recovery

That is according to the European Travel Commission’s (ETC) latest quarterly report “European Tourism: Trends & Prospects” for Q3 2020 which has been closely monitoring the evolution of the pandemic throughout the year and analysing its impact on travel and tourism.

The easing of pandemic restrictions across Europe led to a slight pick-up in July and August 2020 compared to earlier months, signalling people’s enthusiasm and desire to travel again. However, the recent re-imposition of lockdowns and travel restrictions has quickly halted any chance of an early recovery. Looking at the months ahead, heightened uncertainty and downside risks continue to dampen the outlook with European arrivals set to decline 61% in 2020.

Speaking following the publication of the report, ETC Executive Director Eduardo Santander said: “As the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic grips Europe and in advance of the winter season, it is now more important than ever that European nations join forces to agree on common solutions, not only to curb the spread of the virus but also to support tourism’s sustainable recovery, restore travellers’ confidence, and most importantly protect the millions of businesses, jobs, and enterprises that are at risk, so they can survive the economic fallout. The direction of the economic recovery across Europe will depend significantly on the recovery of the tourism sector, a sector which generates close to 10% of the EU’s GDP and accounts for over 22 million jobs.”

Southern European destinations & islands among the most affected

Digging deeper into the above numbers, Mediterranean destinations Cyprus and Montenegro saw the steepest falls in arrivals at a distressing 85% and 84% respectively, attributable to a higher dependency on foreign travellers. Among the other countries most impacted are Romania where arrivals plunged 80%; Turkey (-77%); Portugal and Serbia (both -74%). Island destinations, Iceland and Malta (both -71%) also performed poorly, challenged by their geographical location and strict border restrictions.

On the contrary, Austria appears to have benefitted from pre-Covid-19 winter travel at the start of the year, resulting in a decline of just 44% for the year to September. A greater reliance on short-haul trips also placed Austria in a strong position to attain a less volatile recovery as restrictions in the country have eased much quicker than other countries.

This further highlights the need for member state cooperation across Europe as the disparity of approaches regarding travel restrictions has depressed travel demand and consumer confidence. A recent survey by IATA suggests that travel restrictions are as much a travel deterrent as the perceived risk of catching the virus itself. Harmonised solutions towards testing and tracing, along with quarantine measures will be crucial to mitigating the downside risks across Europe.

Future outlook & shift in traveller preferences

The importance of domestic and intra-European travel cannot be understated in terms of the role it will play in the recovery of the tourism sector over the coming months. In a welcome update, the latest forecasts predict a quicker rebound for domestic travel in Europe, surpassing 2019 levels by 2022. European short-haul arrivals are also projected to bounce back faster by 2023, being helped by a swifter easing of travel restrictions and a lesser perceived risk compared to long-haul trips. Overall travel volumes are now projected to return to pre-pandemic levels only by 2024.

The Covid-19 pandemic is also impacting destination choices within particular European countries. The summer season has shown a significant increase in those seeking to travel to rural and coastal locations, clearly as a result of concerns regarding visits to highly-populated urban locations, where it is more difficult to practice social distancing.

This change in travel preferences may ultimately mitigate the issue of over-tourism and allow destinations to boost sustainable tourism demand. Increased travel interest for secondary destinations will relieve some popular tourist hotspots that previously struggled to cope with excessive travel demand and will help spread the economic benefits of tourism more evenly within countries.

The full report and the infographic can be downloaded from ETC’s corporate website under the following link: https://etc-corporate.org/reports/european-tourism-2020-trends-prospects-q3-2020/

Uncorked: The Liquor Control Board of Ontario Vintages $14.95 and Under Corner: And The Winners

Here is a red wine called Hécula from the Yecla appellation in Spain.

Black cherry in colour. Aroma of black cherry, blackberry, lavender and ripe strawberries. On the palate fairly solid tannins that leave a nice fruity ring encapsulated around the tannins. No doubt about it. This is a full-bodied wine but being a big boy wine means you have some responsibilities and that is delivering some flavour! In this case there is flavour and it is tight and there is no jamminess nor flippancy. It is tightly held old big and fat strawberries with black cherry nectar clinging on for dear life. I would say this wine will sail nicely on for the next 5 years and improve. Nice long finish. If General Franco and his big ego were still alive today this might be a wine he would relish as it is big and strong like the Spain he always wanted.

I would think these needs something meaty on the grill or something with a very rich tomatoe and wine sauce like osso Bucco.

(Hécula, Monastrell 2017 DO Yecla, Bodegas Castaño,Yecla, Spain, $14.75, LCBO # 718999, 750 mL, 14%,Robert K. Stephen A Little Birdie Told Me Blog Rating 92/100).

The further you go in France well the cheaper the wine gets. At one-point southern France supplied the working class of Paris with their cheap and not so tasty wines but they were cheap and my goodness sometimes blended with Algerian wine. Well they have cleaned up their act but it make take a few more years to get the glowing reputation they deserve.

In this case we have a white. It has a golden colour. Rapunzel Rapunzel let down your hair! On the palate it tries to convince you it is an off dry wine with a very quick vaccination like prick of sweetness but it finishes mostly dry with a bit of sweetness left in the after palate. In fact it is a full bodied white with class! On the nose some apricot, peach and honey which if it wasn’t for its initial jab of sweetness just might make you think you were trying a Viognier. A blend of gros manseng, petit corbu and arrufiac. Now how is that for local! The label state this wine is good with seafood, fish and salads a well as cheese. Now that makes sense but I think you would have to be in Southwest France where this wine originated from to make the perfect choice. As for us Canucks this would go well with poultry and I include turkey for that lonely COVID-19 inspired Christmas party you are going to have!

(Plaimont Témoignage Saint Mont 2017, AOC Saint-Mont, Plaimont,Saint Mont, France, $14.95, LCBO # 16208,  Robert K. Stephen A Little Birdie Told Me Blog Rating 92/100).

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