Many industry players have hailed Australian travellers as “resilient” following the attacks in recent years in Europe.
It has been suggested Australian travellers were popping Europe in the back pocket in favour of travelling to destinations which were perceived as “safer”, but some operators are now signalling passenger numbers have picked back up.
Rail Plus Australasia commercial director Ingrid Kocijan conceded 2016 was a tough year across the board for Europe after several attacks, however she indicated in 2017 booking patterns had been much stronger.
“We believe travellers are accepting the situation as a ‘new normal’ and continuing to book trips despite a number of incidents,” Kocijan said.
Spain and Switzerland bookings were very strong for Rail Plus, but the company noted France was still a bit quiet.
“There’s definitely pent-up demand after a slow 2016 and low airfares are also stimulating bookings,” Kocijan said.
“However, airfare deals are also feeding into a very late booking pattern, with some travellers making large bookings just a couple of weeks prior to departure once they secure an attractive air deal”.
Similarly, Azamara Club Cruises’ CEO Larry Pimentel told travelBulletin the line felt the impact in Europe in 2017.
After the events in Paris and Brussels, Pimentel said he expected that there may be a challenge in 2017.
“I thought this year was going to be a bigger struggle but in somehow, some way, 2 January came and the phone centres blew up with reservations and we’ve had the best European season the brand has had in its history,” he said.
“I think that the industry in general has done very well as a whole.”
