The European Tourism Commission said in a media release this week that despite a 4Q2021 stall in recovery due to the cancellation of inbound airline flights because of concern over the Omicron variant of CIOVID-19, 2022 tourist arrivals to the EU should reach 80% of pre-pandemic level.
2021 arrivals were down approximately 62% overall from 2019. But decrements in visitor number varied significantly among countries, ranging from a low of -37% for Croatia to -81% for the Czech Republic.
Resumption of travel from the US to the EU in November helped to buoy up the EU's 2021 numbers.
The ETC statement also said that although international inbound may not fully recover until 2024, domestic travel this year is expected to exceed pre-pandemic levels.
