The event was attended by tourism leaders from 27 countries in the European region.
In recent years, European tourism has faced significant challenges, including the Covid-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine, and rising living costs. All European destinations must establish robust crisis management frameworks to effectively anticipate and navigate potential crises. Eastern Europe, in particular, is still recovering from the impacts of geopolitical instability and pandemic fallout. We’re grateful to our Lithuanian member for hosting ETC in the beautiful city of Kaunas for this crucial and timely discussion,“ stated ETC President Miguel Sanz.
One of ETC’s core research projects for 2024 is the study ’Examining the Impact of Crises on Tourism’. The project seeks to enhance understanding of how past and potential crises impact European tourism and to provide member NTOs with a crisis management framework, enabling more effective responses and collaboration among destinations.
„We appreciate the choice of Lithuania for this General Meeting. Tourism is facing a number of challenges: the pandemic has been replaced by the effects of the wars in Ukraine and in Gaza, and the issues of seasonality, accessibility and staff shortages persist,“ says Karolis Žemaitis, Deputy Minister of the Economy and Innovation.
„It is no coincidence that we have chosen Kaunas and Kaunas district for the event. We want European tourism leaders to discover as much of Lithuania as possible, to travel in a sustainable way - choosing trains and public transport, and to try out the services of local people,“ he added.
Tadas Stankevičius, head of the Kaunas tourism and development agency Kaunas IN, discussed how Kaunas adapted to the challenges posed by the pandemic and the war in Ukraine while preparing for and hosting events as the European Capital of Culture 2022.
The meeting participants enjoyed a packed agenda, which included guided tours of the city and district, celebrating Kaunas’ 616th birthday with events such as Neighbours’ Day on Laisvės Avenue, visiting the Tourism Street showcasing Lithuanian tourism, attending the Old Handicrafts Fair, witnessing the return of the Hanseatic City with knights’ tournaments, and enjoying concerts and other festivities.
Tourism is recovering around the world and in Europe. According to the European Travel Commission’s recently released report, Europe’s tourism industry is experiencing a robust recovery in the first months of 2024. Based on data from reporting destinations, foreign arrivals (+7.2%) and overnights (+6.5%) in the first quarter of the year surpassed 2019 figures. This continues the upward trend observed in 2023, which recorded foreign arrivals 1.2% below 2019 levels, and nights just 0.2% below. The recovery is largely driven by strong intra-regional travel fuelled by Germany, France, Italy, and the Netherlands. This is coupled with demand from the US, which continues to be Europe’s most important long-haul source market.
Lithuania is no exception, with 72% of pre-pandemic tourist arrivals reached in 2023.
Miguel Sanz, ETC’s President, said: „The early figures for 2024 reveal a positive outlook for European tourism this year. Consumer travel spending is set to rise notably across Europe, hitting record numbers in the coming months. This boost will support the travel and tourism businesses heavily impacted by the pandemic years and ongoing economic instability. Still, high prices and geopolitical risks remain key hurdles for tourism, as the sector as a whole also strives to adopt more responsible practices to benefit the locals and preserve the environment.“
Based on preliminary first-quarter data, the number of foreign tourists in 2024 is rapidly approaching pre-pandemic levels, and the ministry predicts that Lithuania will receive around 1.7 million foreign tourists in 2024. This will be about 24% more than in 2023. In this case, the country will have reached 86% of the pre-pandemic recovery level in 2024. Meanwhile, a full recovery to pre-pandemic figures is expected by 2026.
Travel exports in 2023 were among the fastest-growing types of service exports in the country, with their values exceeding the 2019 levels by 25%. In 2019, travel exports amounted to EUR 1.33 billion, and in 2023, they reached EUR 1.66 billion.
The European Travel Commission is an international tourism organisation that promotes tourism as an important economic sector, fosters the transition towards a more resilient and renewable travel ecosystem, and showcases Europe’s tourism opportunities to the rest of the world.
