Spain & France stays positive and responsive as ‘Titans’ of global tourism

Monday, March 28, 2022

The tourism revival of Western Europe hiccupped in late February and early March as travellers turned indecisive about booking vacations as the war rages in Ukraine.

To quote Miguel Sanz, CEO of tourism promotion agency TourSpain/Turespaña, “It’s a terrible war that may hold back cautious American tourists, and it has been disrupting travelers even more from Japan and other parts of Asia.”

Responding to the situation will test tourism organizations in France and Spain, which have been positioning themselves once again since the pandemic struck. While speaking on Thursday in London at Skift Forum Europe, this was exactly the message industry leaders gave.

“Cautious optimism” is the most apt catchphrase.

“When we look at customer sentiment, there was this shock one month ago, but thanks to tour operators giving information, bookings are ticking up again,” said Caroline Leboucher, CEO of tourism promotion organization Atout France.

After experiencing pandemic for two years and now with the war aftermath, many people are looking for positivity, Leboucher said. That dynamic presents a marketing opportunity related to tourism, she told Lebawit Lily Girma, Global Tourism Reporter for Skift.

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