Interest in travel to Europe is up 29 percent this year over last, according to internal data from Squaremouth, a travel insurance comparison website.
Breaking it down by demographic, Spain has seen the highest increase in Gen Z travelers this year, with a 54 percent increase over last year, while the Netherlands is popular with Millennials, posting a 94 percent year over year increase. Switzerland and Germany have the highest increase in Gen X travelers, increasing by 54 percent and 22 percent, respectively, while Greece is showing a 40 percent increase in Baby Boomer travelers.
While interest in travel to Europe is up, spending is down, with the average cost for a trip to one of the 10 most popular European destinations down 6 percent from last year, to $3,815. Travelers heading to Greece are spending the most, an average of $4,664 per trip, while travelers heading to Spain are spending the least: the average cost of a trip there is $3,027, a decrease of 13 percent.
The 10 most popular European destinations by year-over-year growth are:
- Italy
- France
- UK
- Spain
- Germany
- Ireland
- Greece
- Portugal
- Netherlands
- Switzerland
As for travelers buying travel insurance, terrorism is their top concern for some destinations, according to Squaremouth. The number of travelers buying policies specifically with terrorism coverage for their trips to Europe this year has increased on average by 41 percent over last year, with Portugal and Greece seeing the highest increase in concerns over terrorism, with an increase of 87 percent and 67 percent, respectively. Ireland and Switzerland have seen the least concern for terrorism coverage, decreasing by 12 percent and 8 percent from last year.
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