Europeans ready to travel amid economic recovery
Europeans ready to travel amid economic recovery
12:55, March 10, 2010 
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Europeans are more willing to travel for their holidays in 2010 than they were in 2009, thanks to the ongoing economic recovery, a survey released by the European Commission showed on Tuesday.
Some 80 percent of Europeans continue to travel for their holidays, according to a new Eurobarometer survey on "the attitudes of Europeans towards tourism 2010."
About half of those who are planning to take a holiday in 2010 felt they will have sufficient funds, which is five percentage points higher than in 2009.
Only 20 percent of over 30,000 randomly selected people were almost certain that they will not travel in 2010, which is significantly below the proportion of non-travelers in 2009, which was 33 percent.
"The 2010 survey results are encouraging for the tourism industry. We need to work further on developing the tourism industry, which ranks third in terms of GDP (gross domestic product) and employment in Europe," said Commission Vice President Antonio Tajani, responsible for industry and entrepreneurship.
Tourism is one of Europe's most important service industries, accounting for five percent of Europe's GDP and six percent of employment.
The survey also showed more than half of Europeans increasingly prefer to spend their holidays in traditional tourist destinations, while 28 percent would rather go "off the beaten track" to emerging destinations.
Within Europe, Spain was already the most popular destination in 2008 and 2009 and dominates also the current plans made for 2010. It is closely followed by France and Italy.
Source:Xinhua
Some 80 percent of Europeans continue to travel for their holidays, according to a new Eurobarometer survey on "the attitudes of Europeans towards tourism 2010."
About half of those who are planning to take a holiday in 2010 felt they will have sufficient funds, which is five percentage points higher than in 2009.
Only 20 percent of over 30,000 randomly selected people were almost certain that they will not travel in 2010, which is significantly below the proportion of non-travelers in 2009, which was 33 percent.
"The 2010 survey results are encouraging for the tourism industry. We need to work further on developing the tourism industry, which ranks third in terms of GDP (gross domestic product) and employment in Europe," said Commission Vice President Antonio Tajani, responsible for industry and entrepreneurship.
Tourism is one of Europe's most important service industries, accounting for five percent of Europe's GDP and six percent of employment.
The survey also showed more than half of Europeans increasingly prefer to spend their holidays in traditional tourist destinations, while 28 percent would rather go "off the beaten track" to emerging destinations.
Within Europe, Spain was already the most popular destination in 2008 and 2009 and dominates also the current plans made for 2010. It is closely followed by France and Italy.
Source:Xinhua
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