Far from the madding crowd: New post-Covid holiday criteria for Europeans
- After pleasant weather and attractive deals, the next most important criteria for choosing a destination is that it ‘is not crowded’
- Change linked to habits developed in three years of coronavirus when going off the beaten track was a priority, travel experts say
Europeans are gearing up for their beloved summer holiday season, and new data from the European Travel Commission shows that they’re prioritising a new trip-planning criterion as a result of the last three years: A lack of crowds.
After pleasant weather and attractive deals, the report finds, Europeans say the next most important criteria for choosing a destination on their continent is that it “is not crowded”. That’s a bump from fourth to third place since the commission’s survey introduced the question “What criteria will play the most important role in choosing your next destination?” in March 2022, after all pandemic entry restrictions were lifted in the European Union.
Battling it out for beach umbrellas on Pampelonne Beach in St Tropez or pushing past other holidaymakers on Place du Trocadéro in Paris during the busier summer months was too much after time away. Seclusion remains hot, even with social distancing in the rear-view mirror.
“I think it has to do with the habits we had in the three years of Covid to go off the beaten track and how comfortable and exciting that was to discover new places,” says Luís Araújo, president of the European Travel Commission. Having more breathing room was important to nearly a third of European travellers – whether considering outdoors trips or city breaks.
One thing that’s gone back to pre-pandemic norms, however, is the desire for value.
