The general outlook for tourism in the whole world, including Europe, is optimistic with tourism experts looking at 2012 with a sense of excitement.
With the recession lodged in recent history and the Eurozone going through its debt crisis, one could be forgiven for thinking that the future of tourism is bleak, especially in Europe.
However, thanks to a mixture of new types of tourism and businesses set to take advantage of problems elsewhere, 2-3% growth is expected in Europe next year and the effect of the uncertain financial climate is expected to be minimal in terms of tourism in Europe.
Firstly, Germany is expected to be unaffected and grow, mostly thanks to the type of tourists Germany attracts. Germany is huge in terms of business tourism and companies will need to grow out of the crisis, leading to more conferences and hotel visits.
Secondly, Southern Europe is expected to pounce on the opportunity to take advantage of political upheaval in North Africa. Greece in particular, for obvious reasons, should not squander the opportunity to grab tourists back from countries such as Tunisia and Egypt.
New brands of tourism are expected to gather impetus to aid the afore-mentioned growth. An example in the UK is the relatively new idea of renting gardens to people. The English pride in terms of gardens is well known and the green backyards may just provide the Brits with the way of looking for extra cash.
Continental Europe is now going through its “luxury without guilt” stage, whereby tourists are willing to pay for cheap trips as long as the environment is considered too. The stigma attached to traveling cheap is slowly disappearing.