Data from the European Travel Commission (ETC) and Eurail show improved optimism compared with last year, but with reduced demand from Brazil, Canada, China, Japan, Russia, and the US for travel to Europe in May-August.
The trends are important as demand from these large markets determines the supply of flights to and from the UK and other European countries.
The report said: “Although the Russo-Ukrainian conflict has created new challenges for the European travel sector, it appears to have had a limited impact on sentiment in most long-haul source markets except in China and Russia, with the majority of respondents - 76% - stating that the conflict has not impacted their travel intent.
Results show that Covid-19 concerns, travel-related costs and the lack of convenient travel connections are the main deterrents to long-haul travel this summer.”
Research showed US travel sentiment remained stable from last summer, but sentiment for visiting Europe had slightly deteriorated. This was mostly related to concerns over inflation’s effects on personal finances and increased travel costs.
More than half of Americans who stated their intention to travel to Europe this summer have yet to book due to economic and geopolitical uncertainty. Canadians were similarly hesitant, with only 30% having booked for summer 2022.
Japanese enthusiasm for long-haul travel remains low, with only 14% of respondents planning a trip to Europe in summer 2022. A total of 41% stated poor travel connections between Europe and Japan as their primary reason for not visiting.
The research said: “This was to be expected following the cancellation of many flights between the two destinations recently due to concerns about using Russian airspace in the wake of the Russo-Ukrainian war.”
ETC president Luis Araujo said: “ETC is pleased to see that long-haul travel sentiment is gradually improving as the world continues to recover from the pandemic – albeit at a slow pace. It is heartening that the ongoing conflict in Ukraine has not become another deterrent to international travel to Europe.”
