US Summer Travel To Europe Up 10%; Istanbul, Brussels, Others See Falloff

Recent terrorist events have impacted US travel to some cities. Photo: sftrips.com

As Memorial Day signals the start of the summer travel season, Allianz Global Assistance is predicting an overall 9.3% growth in bookings to Europe through Labor Day, though some key cities recently affected by terrorism will be down.

London will see bookings up nearly 7%, Allianz said, while Rome will be up about 15% for the period Memorial Day to Labor Day, according to an Allianz Global Assistance review of more than 500,000 Americans’ travel plans. Madrid will be up 3%. Strongest showings are coming from Dublin and Shannon, Ireland, seeing increases of 42.8% and 46.5% respectively; Athens, 42.7%; Lisbon, 42.3%, and Amsterdam, 34.5%.

Paris, could experience a 0.6% increase in summer visitors from the U.S., helping it maintain its spot as the second-most visited city in Europe by American travelers behind London, Allianz said.

The number of travelers booked to visit Istanbul are down by 43.7% for that same period, while the number of travelers visiting Brussels is down 30.4%. Neighboring Germany will see travelers from the U.S. to Berlin down 8%, and Frankfurt down by 22.9%.

“Americans are still bullish on Europe, and travel to the continent is going to be resilient as tourists seek safety in traditionally popular destinations,” said Daniel Durazo, director of communications at Allianz Global Assistance USA.