EUROPE: More Tourists Visit Europe

Italy had more overnight stays by foreign nationals than tourist hotspot France.

The country's government tourist board said there were 216.5 million such stays in 2018 in Italy, compared with 140.7m in France.

Spain, it added, was highest in Europe with 301 million.

It said foreigners spent €41.7 billion in Italy last year, boosting the Italian economy and gross domestic product by 1.5%.

Foreign tourism overall in Italy increased by 2.8% compared to 2017, making up 13% of Italy’s GDP.

Tourism is expected to grow even further as the Chinese market continues to expand.

Chinese tourists continue to put Europe at the top of their favourite destinations despite the relative slow-down in the Chinese economy and any concerns about Brexit, according to the latest figures from the European Travel Commission (ETC) in collaboration with the leading air travel analyst ForwardKeys, which monitors 17 million flight bookings a day.

The data shows there was a 5.1% year-on-year increase in Chinese arrivals in EU destinations during January-December 2018.

The ETC says the latest figures show that the EU-China Tourism Year 2018, designed to promote the EU as a tourism destination to the rapidly-growing Chinese market, continues to deliver success.

Over the course of 2018, the top three EU destinations in terms of volume of Chinese arrivals were the UK ( +2.4%), Germany (+2.6%) and France (+7.7%). The three most growing destinations were Croatia (+45.7%), Estonia (+35.8%) and Hungary (+25.1%).

In the context of Brexit, it is interesting to note that if the UK were excluded from the data, the performance of the EU would look even stronger, with arrivals in the whole of 2018 up 5.8%, as opposed to up 5.1% with the UK included.

Similarly, looking ahead, forward bookings are 17.7% ahead for the period January-April 2019, as opposed to 16.9% with the UK included.

Chinese tourists are continuing to put Europe at the top of their favourite destinations despite the relative slow-down in the Chinese economy and any concerns about Brexit, according to the latest figures from the European Travel Commission (ETC), produced in collaboration with the air travel analyst ForwardKeys.

The data shows there was a 5.1% year-on-year increase in Chinese arrivals in EU destinations during 2018 and ETC says the latest figures show that the EU-China Tourism Year 2018, designed to promote the EU as a tourism destination to the rapidly-growing Chinese market, continues to deliver success.

The 2018 EU-China Tourism Year initiative has been extremely successful. And we continue to see the benefits in 2019, explains Eduardo Santander, executive director of the European Travel Commission.

The growth in Chinese travellers has been solid, and the near future, judging by current bookings, will see the EU continuing to increase its share of this valuable market, not just to traditional destinations, but lesser-known and emerging ones as well,” he adds.

Over the course of 2018, the top three EU destinations in terms of volume of Chinese arrivals were the UK (up 2.4%), Germany (up 2.6%) and France (up 7.7%). The three fastest growing destinations were Croatia (up 45.7%), Estonia (up 35.8%) and Hungary (up 25.1%).

Forward bookings into 2019 also look robust, according to the ForwardKeys analysis of booking data. As of 31-Dec-2018, Chinese bookings to the EU for the first four months of 2019 were 16.9% ahead of where they were at the end of 2017. This compares very favourably to the global trend, which is 9.3% ahead.

In the context of Brexit, it is also interesting to note that if the UK were excluded from the data, the performance of the EU would look even stronger, with arrivals up 5.8%, as opposed to up 5.1% when the UK included.

Similarly, looking ahead, forward bookings are 17.7% ahead for the period January-April 2019, as opposed to 16.9% with the UK included.

The data also shows that Chinese bookings for trips to the EU during the 2019 Chinese New Year season are ahead 9.2% compared to last year – well above the global average of 0.2%.

It also identifies that Chinese travellers are arriving early, two-weeks before the Golden Week. Some return home in time to celebrate New Year, while others are choosing longer stays and celebrate in EU destinations.

This positive near-term outlook echoes a pattern that was seen last year. Then Chinese travel to the EU registered above-global-average performances for the two Golden Week periods in 2018.

Within the EU, Central/Eastern Europe was the fastest growing region, and outperformed the EU average during each of the three busy periods (the two Golden Weeks and the summer school break).

Overall Chinese departures from mainland China were up 5.2% during 2018, and bookings are estimated to be up around 16.7% for January-April 2019.

It is a similar picture for Hong Kong and Macao – up 7.6% for 2018, and ahead 35.4% for the first four months of 2019. Tier-two cities, Chengdu, Shenzhen, Hangzhou and Xiamen are showing strong growth: up 18.1% for 2018, with bookings ahead 51.3% in the January-April 2019 period.

Analysis of OAG schedule data from CAPA – Centre for Aviation shows the continued growth in connectivity between China and Europe. Over the first quarter of 2019 the number of available seats from China to Europe is up 12.4% year-on-year.


Tourism Observer

ITALY: Finding Funds For Preservation Of Artistic And Cultural Heritage

Finding funds for the preservation of artistic and cultural heritage can be a challenge, especially when governments are more focused on financial stability and social policies. That is very much the case in Italy, where several historical places as well as famous frescos are being left to crumble, endangering the rich Italian cultural heritage contained in such places.

With a crippled economy and heavy international commitments to keep up with, it is in the hands of the Italian people to find the necessary funding in order to restore the many pieces and works of art which make up their cultural heritage, for which the country is famous worldwide. With this in mind, some new funding initiatives are surfacing in Italy, aiming at changing the people’s perspective on cultural funding.

One of the projects is a government initiative which takes the form of a law called Art Bonus, under which individuals, corporations and art patrons can receive 65% of the amount they donate to the cause as a tax bonus and tourism related organizations will pay 30% less if they invest in renovations or updates to their structures.

Another, even better set of news is that the most iconic world heritage sites such as the Coliseum, Trevi Fountain and other famous places are getting sponsored and endorsed by big, national and multinational corporations, who are contributing millions to the restoration and preservation of such iconic and historic places.

This great news, however, is dampened by the lack of investment in lesser known museums and artifacts, a situation the Italian government hopes will change in the wake of the new law. Investments in cultural heritage are already expected to be on the rise for 2016, which is a positive sign considering Italy is one percent behind the rest of Europe in the percentage of the GDP represented by cultural investment – Italy spends 1.2% of GDP, while European average is 2.2%.

Private efforts are also taking shape, one of which being upaperlacultura.org, the first non-profit Italian website which aims at matching corporations with cultural institutions and sites, in order to find suitable investors.

Another project, with a very different aim however, is LoveItaly!, which has set its sights on promoting Italian tourism internationally, through what they call "a series of transparently managed projects to help the future of Italy”, seeing as they believe the country’s cultural heritage is worth much more than its current tourism revenue.

The organization has proven its commitment to the cause by taking on two restoration projects so far through their crowdfunding website. This effort seems to be having an impact on government institutions as well, as the Pompeii cultural department has already promised to cover the difference between the amount raised for the restoration of The House of the Centaur and the sum needed to bring the project to life, if LoveItaly! fails to raise the full amount.

Furthermore, the organization has enlisted the help of prestigious hotels and organizations in order to provide further incentive to donors and the fact that such arrangements are in place is in itself a positive sign for the industry.