Europe’s largest outbound travel market, Germany, is forecasted to grow by four per cent in 2019, says a just-released World Travel Monitor conducted by IPK International and commissioned by ITB Berlin. This is probably the report’s most significant finding for U.S. travel suppliers and DMOs interesting into tapping into the German market, which is the Number 4 overseas source market for the U.S. inbound tour and travel industry.
Coming off what has been regarded by most international tourism analysts as sluggish, the World Travel Monitor is generally upbeat in its overview of the condition of the industry—both outbound and intra-Europe. We’ve digested some of the Monitor’s key points, which follow.
—Overall, European outbound travel grew by five per cent during the first eight months of the year. The outlook for 2019 is also positive. Further growth can be expected.
—On a global level, 2017 was an exceptionally good year, a development to which Europe contributed significantly. However, the first eight months of 2018 were unable to surpass those figures. ”Rising oil prices and air fares have dampened European growth as well. However, the trend remains clearly positive,” said Rolf Freitag, CEO of IPK International.
—Poland was the biggest source market for international travel, reporting a ten per cent growth year-on-year.
—Swedes and Russians undertook more trips this year, while the Italian, German and Austrian markets registered solid growth too. According to the IPK World Travel Monitor, which covers more than 90 per cent of global outbound travel,
—A look at long-haul travel shows that trips to the Americas recovered slightly from last year’s stagnating figures, growing by 3 percent. Mexico registered four per cent more visitors from Europe over the first eight months, while the USA reported an increase of one per cent
—Among Europeans, tour holidays are seeing a comeback this year with a growth of five per cent. Ever-popular sun & beach holidays were among this year’s growth drivers during the first eight months. With a plus of eight per cent, their growth was clearly above average.
—In 2018 City breaks showed positive growth, albeit less than in previous years. After frequently reporting double-digit growth in the past they achieved average figures this year (six per cent). So far this year, holiday trips overall increased by six per cent.
—Business travel stagnated in 2018, with traditional business trips dropping by five per cent, while MICE travel increased by three per cent.
—Looking ahead to 2019, IPK International forecasts a good year for the European outbound travel market and anticipates five per cent growth.
—The signs are positive for source markets like Denmark, France, Switzerland, Spain and Belgium.
