Tourism within Europe has recovered, and Montenegro was among the countries with the best results, it was assessed at the session of the General Assembly of the European Travel Commission (ETC), which was held in Tenerife.
The session was attended by the director of the National Tourist Organization (NTO), Ana Tripković Marković, with her colleagues, and at the same time, the jubilee was marked, 75 years since the foundation of that international organization, of which Montenegro has been a full member since 2006.
Opening the session, the newly appointed president Miguel Sanz announced that ETC, as one of the oldest international organizations, formed in 1948 as a tool for peace, remains committed to its basic mission of contributing to peace, cooperation and economic prosperity of the European continent.
Summarizing the results achieved in tourism this year, it was stated that one third of ETC members have fully recovered from the consequences of the pandemic and reached or exceeded the levels of foreign tourist arrivals from 2019, while two thirds have not yet.
“Southern European and Mediterranean destinations contributed the most to Europe’s recovery, including Montenegro, with a growth of 14 percent. The very successful campaigns of tourist organizations, especially of Montenegro, in combination with the expansion of low-cost carriers’ lines, are responsible for that,” states the ETC quarterly report.
When it comes to trips from distant markets to Europe, which is the main goal of ETC, a strong recovery of arrivals from the markets of the United States of America (USA), Australia and Canada was recorded, while the Asian markets of China and Japan are still far from the level from pre-pandemic period.
For Chinese tourists, Europe is one of the favorite destinations, but overseas travel is still recovering.
“The ETC research shows that positive trends are expected for the next period, considering that two out of three Europeans plan to travel during the next six months, of which 60 percent within Europe and ten percent outside Europe, i.e. 69 percent for vacation, and eight percent for business reasons”, according to the NTO press release.
Also, according to the research, 45 percent of the respondents have already booked their next trip, and when it comes to the criteria used when choosing a destination, the first place is pleasant weather conditions, followed by attractive price arrangements, friendliness and hospitality of the local population.
What worries European tourists the most is the rise in travel costs.
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