ETOA WEBINAR - 06th October 2020 – European Tourism 2021: North American Groups
On 6th October 2020, Adele was a presenter on the ETOA Webinar: European Tourism 2021: North American Groups.
Below is a link to the video recording, and you can also download the transcript here: ETOA Webinar - October 2020. Read on for a summary of the key points.
Key points from the webinar:
Most of those listening to the webinar expect travel to Europe from N America to return to more significant numbers by 2022.
Pricing, rates and availability for 2022 need to be available by early 2021.
A vaccine is very important to the return of group travel, but consistent rules across countries and a strong testing regime at airports are as important to the confident return of travellers, if not more so.
Key concerns from travellers are around having smaller group sizes, and health and safety worries.
There is significant pent up demand for travel once people feel safe to do so.
Whilst the key European destinations will not diminish in interest, the trends of community experiences and travelling "off the beaten track" will continue.
Hybrid tours may be popular in the short to medium term. These would be defined as involving some element of virtual tourism pre and or post an actual trip.
In order to kick start tourism in 2021/2 it will be vital to have reasonable group space on flights, early pricing for 2022 and flexibility with booking terms and conditions to restore financial confidence in booking trips.