Flash EB No 291– Survey on the attitudes of Europeans towards tourism, wave 2
Analytical report
About two-thirds (65%) of EU citizens said they had travelled – for private reasons – at least once in 20095: 27% had made at least one holiday trip and at least one “short private” trip, the same proportion had made at least one holiday trip but no “short private” trips and 11% had made at least one “short private” trip but no holiday trips. One-third of EU citizens had not travelled for leisure purposes in 2009.6 “Short private” trips and/or holiday trips – EU27 ...in 2008
...in 2009
Fl258 (02/2009)
Fl291 (02/2010)
2
9
32
2
Only short private trips
19
Only holiday trips (≥4 nights)
11
33 27
Both short private trips and holiday trips No short private trips or no holiday trips
39
DK/NA
27
Q2. And how many of these were short private trips, where you stayed away for less than four nights? Q3(2010)/Q4(2009). How many times did you go on holiday in 2009/2008, where you either stayed in paid accommodation / or in your second home for a minimum of four nights? %, Base: all respondents, EU27
Comparing travel for leisure purposes in 2008 and 2009, it can be seen that, although similar proportions of EU citizens had travelled at least once (65% in 2009 vs. 67% in 2008), the proportion of EU citizens who had made at least one “short private” trip and at least one holiday trip has decreased from 39% in 2008 to 27% in 2009 (-12 percentage points). Conversely, an increase can be seen, from 2008 to 2009, in the proportion of EU citizens who had made at least one holiday trip but no “short private” trips (from 19% in 2008 to 27% in 2009; +8 percentage points). Almost no change was seen in the proportion of respondents who had made at least one “short private” trip but no holiday trips (11% in 2009 vs. 9% in 2008). Country variations The individual country results showed a ranking that was similar to the one observed for the results of travel in general (for business and private purposes – section 1.1). The proportion of respondents who had not made any “short private” or holiday trips in 2009 ranged from 10% in Norway to 66% in Turkey. It was not only Norway, but also the other Nordic countries – Finland (14%), Sweden (16%), Denmark (19%) and Iceland (20%) – that were among the countries where one in five respondents or fewer had not taken such private trips in 2009. Countries where respondents were less likely to have travelled for leisure purposes included some Eastern European countries – Hungary (57%), Latvia (54%) and Romania (51%) – and a few Southern European countries – Malta (58%), Portugal (48%) and Italy (44%). 5
By comparison, in February 2009, 50% of EU citizens said they were planning a holiday in 2009 compared to 18% who were certain they would not take a vacation in 2009; 28% were still undecided about their vacation plans for 2009 at the time of the fieldwork. 6 When comparing responses for the total number of trips taken (including business, see section 1.1 – Q1) and the number of trips made for private reasons, it appears that only a minority (3%) of EU citizens had only travelled on business. About half (51%) of EU citizens had only travelled for private reasons, while 14% had travelled for both business and private purposes.
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