After various years of recession in the UK and Europe, it is easy to be depressed. And winter is coming too. So be warned: there may be traces of unseasonal optimism in this blog. I’ve found reasons to be happy in lots of numbers about tourism (I know, I am rather strange).
Let me put it this way. Call me a nerd, but I’m very aware that the European economy actually contracted last year and will do so again in 2013 (shrinking by under 1% in each year). We European have had the works, what with spending cuts and rising unemployment, and financial troubles in Greece, Spain, and various other places. So, just like everything else tourism, must have contracted too. After all, when you are depressed and unemployed you hardly want to leave your house, let alone jet off to some foreign place, right?
Wrong, apparently. Tourism has been going up, not down. Tourist arrivals (the main unit of measurement in the industry) in Europe grew by 5% in the first eight months of this year. In the serious words of a United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) press release, “given that Europe is the world’s largest tourism region with many mature destinations, a 5% growth rate is very positive”. You may think all that this tells us is that a lot of non-Europeans are coming from outside the region to visit us depressed, stay-at-home locals.
Apparently this too is wrong. Foreigners are certainly coming here in large numbers, but depressed as we may be, we Europeans haven’t actually stayed at home. According to earlier research seven out of ten Europeans travelled last year; and about half of them took their holidays in another European country. This year 75% of us said we were planning a holiday, with a smaller proportion, 34% saying yes, that we’d adapt our plans to “take the economic situation into account”. The main reason we travelled? In first place ‘spending time in the sunshine or at the beach’ (40%) followed in second place by ‘visiting family, friends, or relatives’ (36%). Where did we go? Spain (10%), France (8%), Italy (also 8%) were top of the list.
When you start delving a little further into the numbers the ‘feel good’ potential of tourism becomes more evident. UNWTO says the industry accounts for 9% of world GDP and is responsible for one out of every 11 jobs worldwide, and 6% of world exports. Europe has the biggest share of the world tourism market, around 51%. Importantly, the industry does seem to have come through the last two recessions without much trouble. As the UNWTO secretary-general Taleb Rifai recently said, tourism continues to produce above average results in most world regions, offering vital opportunities for employment and local economies. He said this was particularly important for Europe. While the continent has a youth unemployment rate of 23.5%, at the same time there are ‘tens of thousands of job openings in tourism across Europe’.
Of course there are downsides. Massive tourism development can damage the environment and condemn us all to crowded, polluted beaches and unpleasant hotels. But it doesn’t have to be like that and many people and organisations have been working on the idea of ‘responsible tourism’. It could bring some early sunshine to all of us.
Further info - http://www.wtmresponsibletourism.com/
Six hundred GB Pounds buys you the following amount of Euros:
Established in 2008, Travelfx are solely an internet business providing an alternative to a Bureau de Change with some of the best exchange rates online. The company has been ranked 34th in the 2012 Sunday Times Fast track 100.
Established in 2008 with one mission, to bring the retail foreign exchange business online identifying an opportunity to redefine how people purchase travel money. The team of three partners has over 30 years experience in the retail foreign exchange market.
Established in 1979. Moneycorp also have retail bureaux de change at Gatwick, Stansted, Southend and Southampton airports, and across Central London. They provide next day delivery and can deliver on Saturdays for an additional fee
Established in 1981, Covent Garden FX is a family-owned and operated Bureau De Change located in the heart of Central London, providing some of the best exchange rates online for branch collection or home delivery.
Established in 1973 ICE Plc is one of the largest and most respected retail foreign exchange operators in the world with a combined annual group turnover in excess of US.8 billion and with over 300 branches in addition to providing an online service.
Established in 2007 with three bureau de change branches in London as well as running a postal delivery service in the UK with a focus on reputation, trust, reliability and quality of service.
Established in 1976 the business has grown to become one of the most recognised travel money brands in the UK with over 1,100 branches worldwide. They also provide wholesale services to many banks and supermarkets.
Established in 2011 by Ben Wakeham, a young travel mad entrepreneur who wanted to simplify the purchase of holiday money and use the internet to allow consumers to gain better exchange rates than long established travel money providers.
Established in 2002, FairFX cut out the middle man and use state of the art technology to execute your orders and deliver holiday money to your door while eliminating the cost of running expensive foreign exchange kiosks.
The post office is one of the most recognised brands for holiday money in the UK. They allow you to order your travel money online and collect it from any Post office branch or have it delivered to your address for free.
As a well known British high street retailer, M&S stock one of the widest ranges of currency on the high street (up to 42 currencies) available online, by phone or in store operating as one of the most competitive providers for those needing to purchase last minute from one of their 120 stores nationwide.
Established in 1968 and acquired by RBS in 2000, foreign exchange forms part of the general financial services offered by the bank. You can purchase notes or travellers cheques for collection from your local branch or home delivery.
