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Where to Travel Next?
From Paris’ Eiffel Tower to London's Tower Bridge to Greek islands, Europe is a popular destination among backpackers, families and retirees alike
The Beginner asked its readers, which continent they preferred as their next travel destination. Fifty percent voted for Europe, while 25% thought Latin America was the best place for travelling. Australia ranked third with 17% and both Asia and Africa received 8% of the votes each.
Official numbers by Eurostat confirm this trend. In 2011, the number of nights spent in hotels and similar establishments in the 27 EU member countries (EU27) reached a peak of 1.6 billion nights, up by 3.8% compared with 2010. The evolution of the number of nights spent in hotels in the EU27 showed alternating phases of growth and decline over the last decade. After a low point in 2003, the number of nights spent in such lodgings grew steadily for four successive years. In 2008 and 2009, the number fell in the EU27, but it began to recover from the crisis in 2010, reaching a new record in 2011 for nights spent by both national residents and nonresidents.
Tourism is an important activity in the EU that has the potential to contribute towards employment and economic growth, as well as development in rural, peripheral or less-developed areas.
In 2006, the European Commission adopted ‘A Renewed EU Tourism Policy: Towards a stronger partnership for European tourism’. The document addressed a range of challenges that will shape tourism in the coming years, including Europe’s ageing population, growing external competition, consumer demand for more specialised tourism, and the need to develop more sustainable and environmentally friendly tourism practices.
The document argued that a more competitive tourism supply and sustainable destinations would help raise tourist satisfaction and secure Europe’s position as the world’s leading tourist destination. This strategy seems to have already worked for The Beginner holiday makers.