European city breaks proving popular
07 May 2008The European city break market is going from strength to strength and proving an important part of the tourism industry, according to recently released figures.
European Cities Marketing (ECM), which represents over a hundred cities, tourist boards and other groups, announced that the continent's top urban destinations generated €540 million (£426.5 million) from tourism in 2006, €19.2 million more than in 2005.
ECM revealed that the growth of the low-cost flight industry has played an important part in the popularity of city breaks.
Demand for accommodation has been stronger in cities such as Dublin, Cologne, Tarragona and Zurich, which are close to airports that act as bases for budget airlines.
The number of worldwide low-cost flights is expected to grow by 14 per cent this year, suggesting that the city break industry is set for another strong season.
Mark Walsh of Reed Travel Exhibitions, which will host the City Break show in Belgrade, Serbia on June 9th and 10th, said: "The sheer size of the city break market is immense: city tourism nowadays accounts for almost 40 per cent of the total European outbound trip volumes.
"Based on these facts approximately 20 per cent of international tourism receipts are generated in European cities. This all underpins the buoyant market of this rapidly expanding industry."
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