Holidays abroad are usually one of the most sought-after things to do in a year. At the beginning of every year, people make a bucket list and over 60% of these people usually have a destination for holidays in mind to travel to. However, due to the emergence of Covid’19, especially the one-year lockdown and maybe more in some countries, especially in tourist destination countries, there was a decrease in the rate at which people were travelling. Travel bans were also imposed and some countries imposed extra restrictions and many people could be afraid to travel due to the risks associated.
It could be estimated there was an even split between those choosing to travel and those choosing not to travel, but the question remains, is it becoming less popular?
UK visitor stats
In 2018, over 37 million people visited England and in 2019 this rose to over 40 million. However, in 2021, just 1.8 million people visited the United Kingdom which is roughly 95% lower than in 2019. In contrast, in 2020 which was when COVID 19 was at its peak, the UK had about 11.1 million visitors. This is a 73% decrease from 2019 but about a 16% increase in comparison to 2021. This shows that from 2018 to 2019, there was a surge in visitors, but from 2019 to 2021, there was a downward plunge. On the flip side since then, residents of the UK have likely been staying put and opting for a Devon holiday staycation rather than a trip abroad. This is likely a result of both COVID 19 and also the recent rise in living costs.
Visitors to Italy
Italy has had a steady increase in the last 5 years up till 2019. In 2018 alone, the statistics were 94 million people that year while in 2019, it became over 100 million people. The figure in 2020 dropped drastically with an estimate of just 38 million people visiting that year. This was a 72% decrease in comparison to 2019 and a 60% decrease in comparison to 2018. In 2021, it increased to 60 million people visiting the country which was a 37% increase in comparison to 2020 but still an alarming reduction by 60% in comparison to 2019.
Visitors in France
France, which is the most visited country in the world also experienced a decrease in visitors. In 2018, France had 89.3 million visitors, most from other European countries. In 2019, it increased to 217.9 million. This was double the normal increase. However, in 2020, it dropped by over 100 million people.
The number of people visiting countries abroad has fluctuated significantly in the last few years. Covid has been likely to blame for a high number of these changes however there has also been the recent factor of the rising cost of living to contend with that has likely impacted people’s decisions to go abroad.