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Continued growth for European tourism
27 Jun 2008
The European Travel Commission (ETC) has released its annual report on the state of the continental tourism industry, showing that growth continued to be strong in 2007.
International arrivals and the number of overnight stays in Europe increased by more than 4% last year, exceeding long-term forecasts by the UN World Tourism Organisation.
Europe saw around 20m additional tourist arrivals in 2007, which represented about 45% of the total world increase, showing its dominance as a world tourism region.
The ETC said that the results were 'especially impressive' as there were few major events taking place in Europe last year. The main regional tourism draws were the rugby World Cup in France and the America's Cup sailing contest in Spain.
Some of the strongest performing countries last year were Montenegro, Serbia, Iceland and Turkey, all of which saw growth of 20% or more.
France continued to be the regional tourism leader, with a 4% increase in arrivals helping to strengthen its position, while Italy achieved a similar level of growth.
Rob Franklin, executive director of the ETC, suggested that emerging destinations could become increasingly important in coming years as governments invest in order to make the most of tourism demand.
'Governments of many emerging economies have earmarked tourism as a means of diversification and, as a result, are making huge investments in tourism infrastructure development and marketing to support the sector, as well as facilitating and stimulating private sector investment in tourism,' he said.
Opodo cheap flights, hotels and car hire - let the journey begin!
International arrivals and the number of overnight stays in Europe increased by more than 4% last year, exceeding long-term forecasts by the UN World Tourism Organisation.
Europe saw around 20m additional tourist arrivals in 2007, which represented about 45% of the total world increase, showing its dominance as a world tourism region.
The ETC said that the results were 'especially impressive' as there were few major events taking place in Europe last year. The main regional tourism draws were the rugby World Cup in France and the America's Cup sailing contest in Spain.
Some of the strongest performing countries last year were Montenegro, Serbia, Iceland and Turkey, all of which saw growth of 20% or more.
France continued to be the regional tourism leader, with a 4% increase in arrivals helping to strengthen its position, while Italy achieved a similar level of growth.
Rob Franklin, executive director of the ETC, suggested that emerging destinations could become increasingly important in coming years as governments invest in order to make the most of tourism demand.
'Governments of many emerging economies have earmarked tourism as a means of diversification and, as a result, are making huge investments in tourism infrastructure development and marketing to support the sector, as well as facilitating and stimulating private sector investment in tourism,' he said.
Opodo cheap flights, hotels and car hire - let the journey begin!
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