Europe welcomes more than 671 million international visitors last year

 Thursday, February 15, 2018 

Last year, Europe welcomed beyond 671 million international arrivals, becoming the world’s leading destination for global visitors.

 
Major factors behind this increase in visitors were the economic growth in major source markets and the recovery of destinations, which were previously affected by security reasons.

 
A stronger U.S. dollar and competitive airfares propelled growth in tourist arrivals from the U.S., going up 12 percent last year compared to 2016. Traditionally strong markets like the U.K., France and Germany contributed to significant sources of arrivals followed by newer markets of Russia and China

 
With few exceptions, monitored destinations saw increases in tourist arrivals. Among the most impressive rebounds was Turkey with growth largely driven by Russian outbound market.

 
Iceland also showed robust results of 24 percent increase.

 
Destinations in Southern/Mediterranean Europe Montenegro, Serbia, Malta, Slovenia and Cyprus also boosted growth and held campaigns to overcome the limits of seasonality.

 
Finland also enjoyed a solid increase in visitor arrivals fuelled by Chinese and Indian arrivals. Established summer destinations like Croatia, Portugal and Spain also saw healthy growth.

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