TTW – Being in the legacy for more than 20 years where do you see the development of Europe tourism has come up till now? And where do you see it in the coming years? Tom Jenkins : Europe remains the “No 1” tourism destination, but that distinction is achieved by measuring all internal visits by Europeans as international. In reality the rest of the world is catching up: in some markets a greater proportion of people are going elsewhere in the world than they did 20 years ago. So the future lies, for Europe, in promoting itself as the traditional destination. TTW – Tourism has changed and being the most lucrative business how the hoteliers and the tour operating agencies have helped in the growth of tourism in Europe? Tom Jenkins : Because of the bizarre tax structure in Europe, where businesses are actively discouraged from selling packages to non-Europeans, most of the development has been online.
TTW: What are the latest trends of tourism that have made the industry and the business see a boost? Tom Jenkins : Self-packaging and river cruising have seen huge growth in recent years. We await the return of the group tour. TTW: There had been a shift from agency tour booking to online trade booking. How much this has affected the business of the tour operators and how it has enhanced the growth of tourism business in the Europe? Tom Jenkins : All businesses ought to have a mixture of distribution methods: the evolution of the internet as the primary source of information for those planning to come to Europe has made this imperative. TTW: What are your take on providing sustainable tourism in Europe? Tom Jenkinse : Tourism at the moment is not inherently sustainable, but then neither is the consumer society of which it is a manifestation.
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