The evidence is strong: Americans are going back to Europe.
Pegasus Solutions says Americans are returning to Europe in “considerable numbers.”
Another indicator: passports.
The US State department says they’re up 13% from October to February of this year then the same time last year.
Pegasus recorded a 25% increase in bookings made by US-based travelers at Utell by Pegasus member hotels in Europe the first quarter of the year compared to the same period in 2003.
Most popular was the UK, where properties represented by Pegasus had a 71% increase in bookings from the US in the first quarter of this year.
Other notable upswings came in Americans booking hotels in Portugal (up 60%), Switzerland (up 35%), Austria (up 33%) Germany (up 32), Spain (up 30%, and even France (up 20%).
“The increase in travel from America to Europe is evident in our booking data, as well as in the anecdotal exchanges we have with leading US travel agencies,” said Bob Boles, executive vice president of sales and marketing at Pegasus Solutions.
The upswing came in both business and leisure travelers, according to Pegasus.
Increased bookings could reflect pent-up demand, suggested Amy Ziff, editor at large for Travelocity.
Report by David Wilkening
