The European Travel Commission, which comprises EU member states and non-EU countries such as Norway, has published its latest report. “European Tourism: Trends and Perspectives” concludes that a no-deal Brexit would have a permanent downward effect on UK travel and tourism across Europe.
The impact would differ country by country, but the report suggests that Spain would be the most affected. A combination of economic and non-economic factors would, the report states, result in a seven per cent decline in UK tourism in Europe in 2020.
This fall would be greater in 2021 - eight per cent. As for Spain, the calculation is a loss of 1.3 million visitors in 2021.
The market leader in terms of number of tourists, the UK provided 18.5 million tourists in 2018, 22% of the national total. The most worrying aspect would be that losses experienced by different countries would be permanent. The executive director of the commission, Eduardo Santander, says that despite the “very real challenges”, such as a potential no-deal Brexit and the collapse of certain airlines, European tourism and travel demand is otherwise “in a very good place, with constant increases in the number of tourists”.