Tuscany is a region in central Italy with an area of about 23,000 km2 and a population of about 3.8 million (2013). The regional capital and most populated town is Florence with approximately 370,000 inhabitants while it features a Western coastline of 400 kilometers overlooking the Ligurian Sea (in the North) and the Tyrrhenian Sea (in the Center and South).
The tourism sector in Barcelona continues to break records. In 2016, the number of visitors reached an all-time high – topping the previous year's record numbers – with 18.5 million nights spent. This performance places Barcelona far ahead of other European cities such as Milan, Geneva, Munich and Vienna. However, mass tourism has caused many troubles to the locals and a new tourism model is necessary to develop.
The perception of Barcelona's residents has been changing. While the great majority still considers tourism to be a beneficial activity for the city, an increasing number of people is of the opinion that tourism has reached its maximum potential, as per the results of the Tourism Perception Survey for the City of Barcelona.
Quality economy class hotels are hard to find in Russia, according to a survey of hotel operators by RBTH. In the majority of cases, in lieu of economy hotels, tourists are being offered rooms in run-down Soviet era establishments or in mini-hotels (of 20 to 40 rooms). Vadim Prassov, Vice-President of the Russian Federation of Restaurant and Hotel Operators, explained that the situation varies from city to city: in some places, mini-hotels are able to compensate for up to 70% of the lack of good quality economy class hotels. As far as larger hotels are concerned, the situation depends on the policies of the local authorities, whether they offer incentives to investors.
The number of tourists visiting the German capital has increased by three percent in the first quarter of 2017. At the same time, the number of overnight stays has decreased. The neighbor city of Potsdam feels the positive impact of Berlin’s tourism boom.
In the first three months of 2017, Berlin accommodation providers reported more arriving guests than in the same period last year.
The Berlin-Brandenburg Statistical Office reported that the number of tourist arrivals rose by 3 percent to approximately 2.7 million. On the other hand, the number of overnight stays fell by 0.3 percent to 6.3 million. This includes 2.8 million overnight stays by foreign guests. The data represent an increase of 0.5 percent compared to the previous year. The average length of stays is 2.3 days.
Sea, mountains, cuisine, hospitality and security. Foreign tourists love Poland and throughout the last couple of years the destination has become even more popular. However, the travel safety has become troublesome recently.
In the latest report of the World Economic Forum, Poland was ranked 48th in terms of travel safety and security of a country. This is a fall by 13 positions compared to 2015. In assessments, the issues like crime rate and terrorist threat were taken in to account. In the same report Poland’s great attractions, well-maintained and quality hotel infrastructure were highlighted. Tourism in Poland seems not harmed much by the security troubles.
Czech hotels are receiving so many orders, that many of them have increased prices compared to last year. Price increases could reach up to 15%. A larger number of guests is expected both domestically, as well as from foreign countries. “This year there is higher demand, especially for the summer, and higher quality accommodation. Places that are regularly full are raising prices, because they can afford it. The increase of prices is up to 10%,” said Jan Papež, deputy chairman of the Association of Tourism Agencies in the Czech Republic.
Iceland has been experiencing a historic tourist boom for 7 years. 20% more tourists are flooding its volcanic soil every year. The Icelandic government is now considering whether to impose taxes or restrictive measures to better regulate the inflow in the country because the growing amount of visitors is not only positive for Iceland tourism – it causes price explosions, saturation of accommodation, or even modification of the tourist structure. +264% in six years, 20 to 30% more tourists each year, 23% of the national GDP... The figures are impressive. In the space of seven short years, Iceland tourism has become the country’s first economic activity, ahead of traditional fishing and aluminum production.
The Prefecture of Halkidiki is located in the southeastern portion of Central Macedonia and consists of a large peninsula in the northwestern Aegean Sea resembling a hand with three "fingers" – Kassandra, Sithonia, and Agion Oros which contains Mount Athos and its monasteries. Kassandra has popular tourist resorts with organized beaches. The second peninsula, Sithonia, features less organized resorts and more secluded coves. The third peninsula, Mount Athos, is a secluded monastic community where entrance is allowed only to men and after special permission. The prefecture occupies 2,918 km² of land and features approximately 105,000 permanent inhabitants.
The year 2016 brought many visitors to the Alps and to the Danube. However, for the hoteliers not everything is rosy. The start of the winter season was somewhat weak for Austria’s tourism.
The hotel industry in the Alpine republic is flourishing. Austrian hotels managed to generate 140.85 million overnight stays in 2016. This is a 4.2% increase compared to 2015. This figure is a new record for Austria’s tourism and is above the 140 million mark for the first time ever.
The Baltic Sea, Allgäu, Lake Constance – German destinations are more popular than ever. Last year a new peak of 447.3 million overnight stays in terms of domestic and foreign guests was reported. The growth of German tourism is expected to continue in 2017. Germany’s travel industry boom has no end. The number of overnight stays rose to a record value of 44.3 million. This is the sixth year in a row in which a new record had been reached.
French tourism industry is finally celebrating. After two years, tourists are back in force in France. The strong rebound, that reaches the figures from before the attacks in 2015 and 2016, benefits mainly to the urban areas and in Ile-de-France, according to INSEE (French National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies). During the last three months of 2016, the amount of overnight stays showed an increase of 3.9% compared to the last quarter of 2015, after two consecutive quarters of decline, according to the Institute of Statistics. This strong rebound is more than offsetting the net decline recorded a year earlier (-1.8%) related to the impact of the attacks from January 2015.
Tyrolean tourism provides about 80,000 jobs and accounts for almost a quarter of GDP reaching 6.4 billion euros. With around 340,000 beds, about 46 million overnight stays a year, and more than 53,000 directly employed persons, tourism is an exceptionally important economic activity for Tyrol, according to a study commissioned by the Province of Tyrol in cooperation with the German Association for Applied Economic Research.
Nearly a million Russian tourists visited Spain between January and November 2016, 1.8% more than in the previous year, a figure that is rebounding from the lows, although it is still far from the 1.5 million arrivals in 2013.
According to Alla Manilova, from Russia’s Deputy Minister of Culture, in the first eleven months of the year 953,000 Russian tourists visited Spain. This figure is in contrast to the 40% decline since 2014 and coincides with the instability of the Russian rouble at the time and "the worsening of political relations between Russia and Europe," he explained.
At risk in 2016, French tourism ended the year with a slight improvement in hotel occupancy. The positive trend is expected to continue throughout 2017, provided that the most affluent foreign tourists come back to the country.
While 2016 was the worst year for the hotels since 2009, its last four months ended with a 0.5% increase in occupancy, according to the MKG study, which is good news for the French tourism industry.
The success of the 2014 Commonwealth Games, which welcomed around 5,000 athletes, has bolstered Glasgow's reputation as a destination with a full range of sporting facilities and a city capable of hosting international events, such as the 2015 World Gymnastics Championships, which attracted over 70,000 people. In 2018, Glasgow will be the stage for the inaugural European Championships expected to have a television audience of more than one billion.
Tourism industry in Italy has become the most important growth provider for the country’s economy this year. The trend is expected to continue in 2017/18 as well. The gross domestic product is expected to increase by 0.9% in 2016 and tourism by 1.5%. The turnover in tourism accounts for 171 billion euros, which is 11.8% of the GDP. The sector employs 3.1 million people, 12.8% of the Italian workforce.
Tourism in Venice has been a growing problem; the city is overrun by tourists. Many of the local inhabitants have left the center, and are still leaving in droves. Within one generation the population has shrunk by almost a third. Rising costs are driving more and more people out of the city. This month the number of inhabitants has fallen to under 55,000. In 1951 the population was 175,000. 26 years ago it was still 78,000. Another problem is that almost half of the population is over 60 years old. On the other there are only about 9000 people under 18 years old.
Tourism in France suffered greatly last year; especially Paris and its suburbs. The hotel industry in Ile-de- France reported that the number of overnight stays in the second quarter of 2016 fell by 10.6% compared to the previous year. The decline in the number of foreign customers was particularly noticeable: 13.9% year-on-year in the second quarter of 2016. Japanese tourists were the biggest group that left Paris, their number dropped by 46.2% compared to the previous year. Fortunately, business tourism, the professional counterpart to leisure tourism, is performing better, and despite a lackluster year, the Ile-de-France maintains its dominant position in Europe.
The vote of British electors in favor of the United Kingdom's exit from the European Union (EU) in June 2016, commonly known as “Brexit,” will have consequences for the country's tourism industry, as well as for Europe. It seems domestic tourism will benefit quite substantially. It was one of the most discussed topics at the World Travel Market (WTM) 2016. It is the subject of an entire chapter in the 7th edition of the “Industry Report” presented by the fair and is at the heart of several conferences.
The Q3 2016 Hotel Bulletin analyses the first full quarter of data following the EU referendum in June. Very early trends suggest that a divide could be emerging between leisure and corporate focused markets. Cities with larger tourist industries recorded strong RevPAR growth as international visitors flocked to benefit from a weaker Pound, whereas cities outside this group continued recent trends of plateauing or declining RevPAR. This quarter's Focus examines he independently branded hotel market, where a number of groups have created unique customer propositions and enjoyed significant success.