Calling all Americans
European vacation spots are rolling out some new travel deals in an effort to bring in more Americans.
Europe was supposed to be prohibitively expensive this summer because of a dollar that had fallen nearly 30 percent since early 2002.
However, as the dollar bounces back, travelers are finding that sluggish demand – combined with a glut of new hotel rooms – are keeping some prices unseasonably low.
Parts of Italy, particularly Rome and Tuscany, remain glaring exceptions to the rule. But in some traditional standbys, including the Alps and even Amsterdam, travelers from the U.S. are considerably more scarce and are being met with special deals.
In Paris, a few hotels such as the Hotel Vernet and the Park Hyatt Paris-Vendome are giving away extras with packages – such as $100 of free food vouchers, in Hyatt’s case – and free spa access at the Vernet.
In Germany, a local tourist office in the southern state of Baden-Wurttemberg has a 410-euro (about $495) deal through October that comes with six nights’ lodging, breakfast and complimentary hang-gliding lessons and use of equipment.
In Switzerland, some major lodges are only 60 percent full, and as a result are running discounts. In Montreux, on the banks of Lake Geneva in Switzerland, the Golf Hotel has a special through Oct. 1 that gives a third night to guests who pay for two; it also has a 20 percent summer discount.
Zurich Tourism, a nonprofit travel-promotion organization, is offering a special for families through its Web site (www.zuerich.com) in which children get free room and board at 11 hotels in the region.
Even in major travel cities such as Barcelona, Madrid, Warsaw and Berlin, room rates remain relatively low, partly because overoptimistic hoteliers poured in a few years ago and built too many new properties.
The Hotel Villa Real in Madrid has a special for 115 euros, or about $140, down from a standard price of 347 euros, or about $415.
This all is coming at a time when the dollar is gaining strength on the euro, hitting a high of $1.19 to the euro on July 4 and remaining around $1.20 – a significant climb from its low point, $1.36 at the end of last year.
That’s good news for travelers who bought their tickets in advance: They will be rewarded with cheaper prices once they arrive.
All these travel patterns were in motion well before the recent terror attacks in London. Travel experts say that the bombings are likely to have only a short-term effect on travel to Europe, and so far, in fact, travel to the United Kingdom is proving to be resilient.
Italy is shaping up to be crowded with Americans this summer partly because wall-to-wall television coverage of the pope’s election earlier this year rekindled travelers’ interest, agents say. AAA Travel says its bookings to Italy for July and August are up 50 percent over last year.
U.S. travel to France, which remains the country most visited by tourists worldwide, is expected to rise 8 percent this year – but still, the total number of U.S. visitors will be well below the peak years of 2000-01.
For countries that don’t traffic in pasta or red wine, interest from U.S. vacationers has cooled somewhat this year. Projections for European travel this summer show single-digit percentage growth in arrivals to most countries, compared with double-digit growth in many places last year as travel rebounded.
Among the biggest laggards: Spain, which is expected to see only a 3 percent increase in U.S. arrivals this year. U.S. arrivals in Switzerland are expected to rise just 2.5 percent this year.
Overall, the World Tourism Organization says arrivals to Western Europe rose by 2.2 percent last year and 2.5 percent so far this year – one of the slowest growth rates worldwide.
That is leading to some deals. The Athenaeum Hotel in London has a fixed dollar-pound rate all summer. And earlier this summer it saw a shortfall in August bookings and decided to give a guaranteed upgrade to people who book for that month.
Finland is running specials such as a package through September for two nights in a hotel, plus airfare, starting at $795 from Icelandair Holidays. And in Norway, buying a “fjord pass” for $15 enables its holder to qualify for discounts at 200 hotels and cabins, including some bookings that start at $45 a night.
In Germany, the Reit-im-Winkl spa in Bavaria has a week-long deal for 276 euros, or about $330, per person. The kids program is free through Sept. 10. The Pousadas de Portugal, a group of small hotels that include castles and convents, has a package where guests who spend three nights pay for only two, through Aug. 1.
Paris, a high-priced destination even when the dollar had more muscle, also is running many fixed-dollar promotions. That is in part because hoteliers worried that U.S. travelers would remain skittish following strained diplomatic ties between the countries.
Because of the hotel-building boom five or so years ago, not only Barcelona and Madrid but cities including Warsaw, Frankfurt and Berlin have more new hotel rooms than they have guests to fill them, says Mark Wynne-Smith of Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels Europe, which tracks the hotel market. The company expects room rates to keep dropping in Barcelona, Warsaw and Berlin through 2005.
Over the past six months, travel agents say they have been surprised by the relative strength of advance bookings to Europe, which remained stable considering the exchange rate. But many of those travelers have been heading for lesser-traveled sections of Eastern Europe – partly on the promise of more affordable trips behind parts of the former Iron Curtain.
In 2004, arrivals to Central and Eastern Europe jumped 14 percent from a year earlier, besting all other parts of Europe, according to the World Tourism Organization. In the first part of this year, the area posted an 11 percent increase in international arrivals.
There also are bargains on European travel for travelers who pay attention to unique local conditions. For instance, room rates in Brussels during the summer are 50 percent lower in July and August than during the rest of the year – because the European Union, which is based in Brussels, isn’t meeting during those months. Annette Choynacki of the Belgian Tourist Office says visitors can expect to book in the best hotels in town for 150 euros, or about $180.
Even in Italy, all is not lost. Two Le Meridien properties in Turin, in the north of Italy where the 2006 Olympic Winter Games are scheduled, have plenty of room. The occupancy this summer is about the same as last summer, and the rates are slightly lower because a hotel construction boom there has flooded the market.
There, the rack rate is usually 410 euros, or about $495, but a summer special reduced the price to 130 euros, or about $155.