The ongoing Eurozone crisis and the current stream of negativity coming out of both Europe and the UK with regards to the European economy appears to be hitting the holiday trade.
Tourists seem to be put off visiting those countries that have been hit hardest by the current financial insecurity.
With many of these nations heavily dependent on tourism, the trend simply adds more gloom to what is already a dour outlook.
BAA, the Spanish company which owns and runs six UK airports including Heathrow and Stansted, has revealed a major downturn in numbers of people flying to traditional European holiday destinations such as Portugal, Italy, Spain and Greece.
A staggering decline of 11.4% was recorded in people flying to Portugal, and a similarly large figure of 11.3% fewer flew to Greece in comparison to this time last year.
With tourism being a major source of economic income in these nations, such drastic falls obviously have a major detrimental affect on what is already a grievous situation.
BAA has said that what is keeping them afloat is cross-Atlantic flights, which have not been hit anywhere near the same degree as those within Europe.
The tourism industry is just one of many sectors that has been drastically affected by the current crisis. This news reiterates the fact that the financial problems of Europe are not only precedent in nations that use the Euro.
These figures perhaps indicate a reluctance on the British public’s behalf to visit nations who have been synonymous with negative economic press coverage of late. But how these problems will manifest within the UK, and the greater effect of the crisis on major companies such as BAA and other tourism providers, is yet to be seen.
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