Eastern Europe Scores in TripVision US Market Study
US travel agents hoping to persuade more Americans to travel to Europe should shop where the locals shop and look east, says an industry expert.
David Jones, managing director of research company TripVision, says US international tourism is still under-developed.
UK travel agents who think they are having a tough time should spare a thought for their American counterparts, working in a market where 80% of consumers plan to holiday at home.
But the Americans could boost their business by promoting the countries which are attracting British travellers in big numbers. That’s because Britain is the top destination for Americans coming to Europe, and what the British like could be very relevant to US travellers .
In a report for an American Society of Travel Agents conference in Prague on European travel trends, Mr Jones said 34% of British holidaymakers now leave home shores for leisure time, with Bulgaria showing the greatest growth of 44% between 2000-2004.
The Czech Republic and Poland each had had 21% growth and Hungary 16%. Turkey scored 10%, while traditional favourite destinations such as Italy and Spain scored 6% each.
Mr Jones pointed out that more than eight out of 10 Americans planned to holiday at home in summer 2006, and while the US outbound market was back to 1999 levels, it still accounted for only 11.7 million people, out of a US population of 300 million.
Europe’s share of this market was still only 21%, compared with Mexico’s 29% and 22% for Canada.
As general trends showed today’s travellers were wealthier than before, older but fitter, technologically-minded, independent, adventurous and resilient. – agents should be encouraging their customers to be more adventurous and venture further afield .
For more information
Contact:
David Jones
Tel: 020 7261 1007
Mob: 07710 49 74 87
Or
Linda Gibson
Marketing To Go
Tel: 01727 825306
Mob: 07710 52 87 59
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