At the recent annual Hoteliers Marketplace, the Association of European Tour Operators (ETOA) conducted a survey that identified the most popular holiday countries in Europe in various categories. The association has existed since 1989, it includes 400 different companies and organizations, of which more than 100 are the largest European inbound tourism operators. Their total annual turnover is about 6 billion euros. The composition of millet participants is also impressive – these are the leading European operators Contiki, Cendant TDS, Gate 1, Travel, GTA, JTB, Kuoni, Lastminute.com, Laterooms. com, Octopus, Trafalgar tours and others.
It turned out that the best vacation destination in Europe in many respects is Croatia. She scored a maximum of votes (23%) in the categories “the most delightful vacation” and “financially most profitable vacation” (19%). In fact, the “victory” of Croatia is explained quite easily. According to ETOA Executive Director Tom Jenkins, Croatia is perceived by everyone as a European country, while it is not a member of the European Union and therefore free from many of its “pitfalls,” for example, from the mandatory 19% value added tax, which gives it a significant financial head start compared with its closest neighbors, primarily Italy and Greece. Recreation in Spain (19%) and the Czech Republic (13%) is also recognized as economically beneficial. The most expensive country in Europe, more than half of the operators named the UK (57%), the country of the best service – Germany (32%). Italy was almost unanimously recognized as the best destination for cultural tourism – 94% of operators called it ideal for exploring art. For lovers of parties, London (34%) and Barcelona (23%) are more suitable.
As the survey showed, in their attitude to the main European capitals, professionals are not much different from ordinary tourists. For example, Paris, as expected, they consider the best place for lovers (71%), and London – for shopping (35%). True, if Paris has no competitors, then they literally breathe in the back of the head in London. In terms of purchases, Paris (32%) and Milan (23%) also had good chances. According to operators, the cheapest food is in Prague (37%), but the best food is in France (58%).
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