VACCINATION appears to be the key remedy in reassuring foreign tourists ready to return to Europe. It seems that countries that have taken effective action to manage the pandemic will be best placed to receive visits from international travellers.
After two years of a pandemic that has immobilised their activities, tourism professionals are working hard to get their visitors back.
Despite the World Health Organization detecting a sub-variant of Omicron in over 50 countries, Europe itself is trying to find out who is interested in returning to its soil, and on what conditions.
The European organisation in charge of promoting tourism in the EU (the European Travel Council) has conducted a study to find out what kinds of factors would reassure international visitors enough to plan a future trip.
Not surprisingly, vaccination is the main criterion for reassuring tourists. For 45% of Brazilians, and as many Chinese respondents, vaccination is the essential requirement to getting them on the road again.
Moreover, travellers are also looking at the vaccination rates of individual countries to decide where and where not to visit.
Indeed, many visitors will favour countries that have implemented effective policies for fighting and managing Covid-19. Such is the case for 25% of Americans and 30% of Canadians.
International travellers need to have peace of mind to imagine returning to European soil. And to achieve this, health protocols appear to be an effective means. Indeed, safety protocols are what reassures 43% of Japanese, 32% of Chinese and 32% of Brazilian respondents.
The latter two groups also consider pre-travel tests as an important factor for travel.
Russian travellers don't want restrictions
Some, like the Russians, are more demanding, with many keen to see all restrictions lifted before travelling again (45%). They want to experience a trip with no constraints: 28% want tourist attractions to be open and available before deciding to return to Europe.
While health measures are logically reassuring arguments, promotions and good deals are also a factor in encouraging international travellers back to the EU. Similarly, 22% of Americans and 28% of Canadians value flexible cancellation policies.
In total, 63% of Brazilian, 57% of Chinese and 45% of American respondents say they want to visit the EU this year. France should be the big winner of this return of foreign travellers, although Italy is the top EU destination in mind for Russian tourists. – ETX Daily Up, February 3, 2022
