Luxury tourism in Europe weighs between 130 and 170 billion euros
This windfall, which for the moment generates 22% of tourism receipts on the continent, could triple within 10 years thanks to the development of certain sustainable and natural destinations and investments in secondary infrastructure or training, according to a study unveiled. tuesday.
Ibex in the Alps in Switzerland. The Swiss country, whose luxury tourism market is as important as that of Germany, has a card to play in the evolution of preferences towards sustainability and natural spaces.
Olivier Born/TX Group
A study, the first of its kind on a European scale, was conducted by Bain and Company for the European Cultural and Creative Industries Alliance (ECCIA), which brings together five organizations bringing together more than 600 luxury brands, namely Altagamma (Italy), Circulo Fortuny (Spain), Comité Colbert (France), Meisterkreiss (Germany) and Walpole (UK).
The study shows that while occupying only 2% of accommodation facilities, “luxury” tourists generate nearly 22% of overall European tourism receipts, represent 22% of accommodation expenditure and up to 33 % of spending on culture, entertainment and shopping.
“Upscale” tourists spend eight times more than the average and the upscale hotel industry employs twice as many staff as the so-called “classic” hotel industry.
great classics
France, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom are in the lead with luxury tourism which exceeds 20 billion euros. Germany captures between 5 and 10 billion euros, or as much as Switzerland.
But other countries are also doing well, such as Greece at 10 billion euros (7% of its GDP) and Portugal between 4 and 6 billion euros.
The report also underlines the emergence of destinations such as Croatia, Slovenia and the Nordic countries which attract people with their natural side and sustainable development. Points on which the ECCIA wants to emphasize.
“We know that high-end tourists prefer to visit Europe for reasons of gastronomy, culture, history, art, shopping, but we are below for nature and well-being”, unlike destinations like Bali, the ‘Australia or Japan, explains to AFP Bénédicte Epinay, general delegate of the Colbert Committee.
520 billion euros
“There is material, with the right European strategies, to develop and orient tourism towards sustainability and nature”, according to Ms. Epinay. Because “it’s one thing to attract people to Paris, to the castles of the Loire and the Côte d’Azur, but the idea is to show the rest of France”, she adds.
To do this, “we must increase infrastructure to facilitate travel to secondary destinations”, she says, pleading for “public policies” to also develop “training for high-end tourism and making Europe a world reference”.
For Matteo Lunelli, who relies on the study, “a plan for the development of high-end tourism in Europe could lead to an increase in the value of the sector to 520 billion euros” per year, between 2030 and 2035 .
The ECCIA also advocates facilitating access for tourists to certain areas in Europe. The report cites as an example the Chinese province of Hainan, “destined to become a free trade port of global importance comparable to Dubai and Singapore” and where “there is a specific plan supported by the government to facilitate access for visitors international markets and promote a high-level luxury offer”.
“This report clearly demonstrates that high-end tourism is an asset for all of Europe,” said Claudia D’Arpizio, global fashion and luxury manager at Bain and Company, quoted in the press release.
Other contributors to this report include analyst Forward Keys, tax refund company Global Blue, and Virtuoso, a global network of high-end tourism operators.
You found an error?Please let us know.