Here are some little-known travel statistics when the weather warms up and your summer vacation approaches.

Most Europeans (72%) will be hitting the road between April and September. The majority of tourists still go on vacation for fun (69%), but this share has shrunk by 7% since 2022.

Many people escaped the stifling conditions they were subjected to during the Covid-19 lockdowns, and this decline likely reflects a diminishing of that sense of urgency.

The percentage of people taking vacations for business purposes rose by 3% year over year, and they now make up 8% of all travellers.
Inflation-driven price hikes in food, transportation, and lodging, as well as the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and the threat of extreme weather events like heatwaves, are all major factors influencing Europeans’ decision-making when planning their spring and summer 2023 vacations.

These and other findings like these came out of a recent study on Europeans’ travel preferences conducted by the European Travel Commission (ETC).

The president of the ETC, Lus Arajo, said, “We’re excited to prove that despite financial concerns and high travel costs, Europeans are still eager to go on vacation.”It’s heartening to see that an increasing number of vacationers are planning their summer getaways for times other than the traditional high season. This encouraging development helps sustain the tourism industry by balancing off the influx of visitors.
The ETC suggests that in order to meet the changing demands of tourists, both tourist spots and companies should pay close attention to these changes.

The answer is yes throughout the summer break, but not during its busiest time.
More Europeans than ever before are looking forward to taking their summer holidays in the spring and early summer, according to recent studies.

The percentage of vacationers who plan to take off work in April and May increased by 6 percentage points from 2022. In addition, 40% of respondents are thinking about taking a trip sometime in June or July.However, this year, only 23% plan to travel during the months of August and September, a decline of 9% from the same two months in 2016. This shift in seasonal travel patterns could be a result of people trying to avoid the crowds and heat of famous tourist spots.It also appears that many Europeans are planning multiple journeys over the period of April 2023 to September 2023.
59% of respondents plan to take many trips in the next few months, with 35% taking two trips and 24% taking three or more trips.

In contrast, just 31% of those who participated in the new survey reported planning only one vacation over the given time frame. Keep in mind that a “vacation” might simply be a single-night hotel stay.
The research also showed that Europeans over the age of 25 have a high level of anticipation for travelling. This pattern can be explained by their high level of discretionary spending, which insulates them from the effects of the recession. But “Generation Z” (those currently in their early twenties to early thirties) is still hesitant to book a holiday (61%).

The addition of severe weather to the equation
Among other things, the research looked at the factors that tourists consider when booking a trip. Twenty-three percent of Europeans are concerned about the rising expense of vacations as a result of inflation, and seventeen percent are worried about their own financial situations.

To ensure themselves of reduced pricing, 51% of Europeans have already made either partial or complete reservations for their next trip, an increase of 8% over the previous year.

According to studies, favourable weather conditions (18%) are the most important when selecting a vacation spot, followed by finding cheap offers (17%), avoiding crowds (11%), and friendly local communities (10%).

However, 7 percent of European tourists said that natural disasters are a major worry.

Twelve percent of respondents continue to be concerned about the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, notably those living in Switzerland, Poland, Austria, Italy, and the Netherlands.
It seems that for as long as the crisis lasts, it will affect the decisions of about half of Europeans when it comes to taking trips.

In the same amount of time, more money
While many vacationers may be flexible with their departure and return dates to alleviate some of their budgetary stress, the data shows that they are not willing to “sacrifice” the total time they spend away from work.

The majority of Europeans (35%) still opt for vacations lasting between four and six nights, while another 22% plan to take trips of 10 nights or more.

According to a research by Travel Daily News, 37% of Europeans are allocating higher budgets of more than €1500 per person every holiday as a result of rising holiday prices. This is a 7% rise from 2022. And 19 percent of vacationers plan to spend more than they did on a similar trip last year.
At last, people were questioned about the European countries that they enjoyed visiting the most. Italy (7%), Greece (6%), and Germany (5%) followed France and Spain, which remained tied for first (each with 8%).

SOURCE :- https://www.jpost.com/business-and-innovation/banking-and-finance/article-743160