New members share in tourism bonanza

Enlargement of the European Union is changing the face of tourism in the new member states.

West Europeans have become more confident about venturing eastwards. Tourism is making an important contribution to economic growth in many of the new member states. Tourist flows from the old to the new member states have been climbing steadily since 1995, according to a European Commission report on tourism in the enlarged EU.

When the new member states joined the EU, they became party to the ‘open skies’ agreement, which has helped liberalise air travel and spurred rapid growth of routes to eastern Europe. The existing no-frills airlines extended their networks and budget airlines based in the east, such as Wizz Air and Sky Europe, joined in. Eva Binkin, acting director of the Polish national tourism office in the UK, notes that previously isolated Polish cities suddenly found themselves well connected to the UK and the rest of Europe by air. Now, says Binkin, there is a cheap flight taking off from the UK for Poland every half an hour. And it is not just stag partiers and weekend shoppers who are heading to Poland. ‘Medical tourism’ is also on the rise, with patients eager to take advantage of better service and lower prices on everything from dental work to hip replacements.

Binkin says that EU accession has made it easier for both travellers and locals. Poles no longer feel "pushed to the fringes of Europe" and travellers are more confident because "the same rules and regulations apply here and in Poland". The stability brought by EU membership combined with a steady increase in tourist flows has led to what Binkin calls "mushrooming" investments in tourist infrastructure, which is helping improve economic growth and lower unemployment. New member states have seen a 36% increase in the number of bed places in hotels between 1996 and 2006, compared to just an 8% increase in old EU15 countries. Growth in tourism jobs in the enlarged EU is growing faster than the overall rise in employment, according to the Commission report.

The citizens of the new member states are joining in the growth in tourism. Personal income is growing in new member states at twice the rate in the old member states and more disposable income is leading to more tourism. Most Europeans still take holidays in their home countries, a fact which is reflected in the growth of the tourist industry in new member states. A report on summer tourism trends shows big increases last summer in the number of nights spent in hotels in Latvia and Lithuania, and also in Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic. In these states, increases are mostly due to more local people staying in hotels, whereas in old member states, most new hotel stays are due to foreigners spending the night.

Even though eastern Europeans are taking more holidays, those holidays look different. Travellers in new member states go by rail and coach in far greater numbers than their western counterparts, who, when not taking a private vehicle, prefer to fly. Income disparities still exist and they make the biggest difference to how Europeans travel.

Enlargement of the European Union is changing the face of tourism in the new member states.