You don’t have to be an expert to see that the current economic crisis is affecting tourism in Europe. What is amounting to a disaster for merchants, hotels and airlines is a pleasant surprise for tourists who are finding traveling conditions better than recent years.
Some planes are flying transatlantic with enough empty seats to afford passengers three seats across that makes sleeping good but destroys airline balance sheets. Hotels at major festivals are still showing empty rooms and reservations at once impossible-to-book restaurants are easier to come by.
I’m currently, in Pamplona, Spain, for the Running of the Bulls. The streets in the morning are still full of thousands of runners being chased by a herd of bulls. However, that is only a two-minute slice of the day. The rest is far less crowded than in years past.
The square is only half-full for headliner bands. Bullfight tickets are only being marked up about 100 percent by scalpers normally demanding 300 percent premiums. The most expensive restaurants are sporting empty tables. Tables at plaza cafes and bars are sitting empty. Store windows are filled with sale signs. Even the pickpockets ranks are thin due to a lack of rich targets.
Merchants here are expecting a 30 to 50 percent drop in revenues that historically have been the driving force for most of this town’s tourism economy.
Friends streaming into Pamplona from Italy, Denmark, Sweden, the U.K., France and Germany are all relating similar stories of travel industry problems this season. That combined with the downdraft in real estate prices and the same tight credit markets seen in the U.S. don’t bode well for the future.
My prediction — though many newspaper and TV news reports are filled with stories about the economic crisis turning around and conditions improving, experience on the ground on both sides of the Atlantic are not reflecting much optimism. Look for more bargains on hotels and airfares together with more elbow room in Europe. This might make autumn the perfect time to visit.
That is, if you have the luxury of funds to pay for the vacation.
Charlie Leocha is the President of Travelers United. He has been working in Washington, DC, for the past 14 years with Congress, the Department of Transportation, and industry stakeholders on travel issues. He was the first consumer representative to the Advisory Committee for Aviation Consumer Protections appointed by the Secretary of Transportation from 2012 through 2018.
