US tourism invades European destinations

21-07-23

Tourists have to wait more than two hours to visit the Acropolis in Athens. Taxi queues at Rome's main train station are just as long. There are so many visitors concentrated in and around St Mark's Square in Venice that crowds of people crowd to cross the bridges, even on weekdays.

After three years of pandemic limitations, this year's tourism in some of Europe's most popular destinations this summer is expected to surpass 2019 records, from Barcelona, Rome, Athens and Venice to the picturesque islands of Santorini in Greece, Capri in Italy and Mallorca in Spain.

After Europeans enabled the recovery of the tourism sector last year, this summer's rebound is largely led by Americans, benefiting from a strong dollar and, in some cases, their savings during the pandemic. Many arrive motivated by "revenge tourism": so eager to explore other latitudes again that they are not put off by higher airfares and higher accommodation costs.