The new fashionable European destinations for summer

For summer vacations, travelers are increasingly choosing to avoid Europe’s most visited cities and beaches in favor of less crowded destinations.

Recent data reported to Bloomberg by Chase Travel shows that European cities seeing the biggest increases in tourists this summer include off-the-beaten-path destinations such as Brussels, Munich, Zurich and Warsaw.

That said, the data, based on cardholder spending, shows that the busiest cities remain London, Paris and Rome.

This trend towards secondary cities is largely explained by soaring prices in Mediterranean hot spots, such as the Amalfi Coast, as well as the record heat plaguing the continent, industry experts say. According to data from Virtuoso, a group of luxury travel advisors, rampant inflation has pushed the average price of luxury rooms in Europe to more than US$1,700 (about C$2,325) in 2023, almost double from the 2019 price, which was US$900 (approximately CAN$1,230). According to Misty Belles, Virtuoso’s vice president of global public relations, these record prices are expected to increase another 9% this summer. According to her, this development has an impact on the places visited.

“We’re seeing a desire to go to places or destinations where the prices aren’t as exorbitant,” says M.^me Beautiful, confirming Chase Travel’s findings.

A search on Google Hotels shows that rooms in five-star hotels in Brussels are being offered for less than US$500 (around $684 CAD) during the first week of June; in Paris, the price is closer to $900 US (around $1230 CAN).

M^me Belles also says travelers are willing to try other destinations due to heat waves hitting Europe. Last year was the second warmest year on record on the continent, and each month of 2024 brought its share of records. As the mercury climbed to 47 ^oC in Sardinia last summer, Zurich’s average temperatures of 24°C seemed awfully inviting.

And that’s without counting the crowds.

This combination has led to more people looking for destinations in northern Europe, with Virtuoso bookings for the Netherlands up 33%, Austria up 31% and Germany up 31%. 26%.

“Don’t worry about Italy, everything will be fine,” said M^me Beautiful. But other regions of Europe are starting to attract significant numbers of travelers.

Amsterdam is one of the places where growth has caused concern. The city ranks fifth among Chase’s fastest-growing destinations, despite the government launching the “Stay Away” campaign to discourage mass tourism.

Rebecca Masri, founder of the luxury travel app Little Emperors, has a solution for those who absolutely want to return to their old stomping grounds despite the prices, weather and crowds: go after Labor Day. After all, she says, the traditional European summer season no longer seems to end in August.

As she says, “peak season for countries like Italy and Greece is now in September.”

The original version of this article was published by Bloomberg.

Consult the original article on the Bloomberg website (in English)