European travel crisis here in North America?
North American travelers this summer making their usual pilgrimage to Europe can expect higher airfares and hotel room rates, raising the question of whether tourism may decline in the usually busy season.
Airfares will average 11% more than last year, according to Kayak.com.
But some long-time popular destinations to major cities will cost even more.
Tickets from the US to Paris this summer were 22% higher in January than in 2011, said Kayak. London was up 14%.
Travel experts say prices will go even higher as the date gets closer to the summer Olympics in late July and August, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Events such as the Olympics are pushing prices up. But higher oil costs and even the improved economy is also creating shrinking airline capacity and higher prices.
Hotels are also costing more these days. Some major European cities such as Munich report 20% increases over last year.
Whether or not this will discourage visitors is still debatable.
Travel agents report some fliers are beginning to balk at the higher prices. But there are various moves underway to make the higher prices palpable to travelers.
Some sites such as the European Backpacker index are focusing on the lesser-known and more inexpensive European destinations.
"There’s good news for Americans in that (at least early in 2012) the US Dollar is up either a little or a lot versus the European currencies, so many cities will actually feel slightly cheaper this year," the site says.
The site uses housing, the availability of cheap public transportation and even the cost of beer among its criteria in selecting the least expensive European cities.
Among its best bets are Sofia Bulgaria, Krakow, Poland and Riga, Latvia.
By David Wilkening
David
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