Cost is the main reason that prevents international travellers from planning a trip to Europe, according to the latest Long-Haul Travel Barometer (LHTB) 1/2025, published by the European Travel Commission (ETC) and Eurail BV.
The quarterly report provides valuable insights into long-haul travel sentiments and the first edition of 2025 shows that long-haul travel sentiment globally and to Europe has weakened for this year. The barometer reveals cautious travel intentions, driven by affordability concerns and changing preferences, but also highlights opportunities to enhance Europe’s global competitiveness by better managing its tourism assets.
The report shows that 63% of respondents across key overseas markets – Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Japan, South Korea and the United States – intend to travel long-haul this year. Among them, 44% plan to visit Europe, highlighting the continent’s strong position despite current challenges. However, this is a decline from 49% in 2024, with weakening sentiment reported in markets such as South Korea, the US, Brazil and Australia. In contrast, Chinese travellers demonstrate growing interest, with 61% intending to visit Europe in the next twelve months.
Affordability remains the most significant barrier to international travel, cited by 46% of respondents not planning a European trip. In addition to affordability, travellers cited interest in visiting other overseas regions or limited vacation time as factors influencing their plans.
While cost is a deterrent for planning a trip, once on holiday, travellers are shown to actually spend more. In the first four months of 2025, 42% of respondents plan to allocate between €100 and €200 per day, showing a 14% increase compared to the same period last year. On the other hand, the percentage of travellers planning to spend over €200 per day has decreased to 30%, reflecting a 13% decline.
Food and drinks are emerging as the top spending category for most travellers (67%). However, market priorities vary: for Chinese travellers, shopping leads their budget (67%), while for US travellers, accommodation ranks second (55%), significantly higher than in other markets (24%).
For those deciding to still plan a trip despite its cost, safety remains the most important factor when choosing a destination, followed by iconic landmarks and well-developed infrastructure. It is the first time the LHTB explores travellers’ perceptions of safety for the first time and it shows that the top factors that make a destination to be perceived as safe are low crime rates, clean and well-maintained tourist establishments, visible security, political stability and friendly locals.
However, travellers from each market tend to define safety differently. While political stability is viewed as paramount by travellers from certain markets, such as Japan (57%), Australia (44%) and Canada (42%), visible security takes precedence in others, especially in South Korea (55%), Brazil (51%) and China (42%).
Despite all the challenges, Europe’s iconic attractions remain a major draw for international travellers in 2025, often leading to overcrowding, especially during peak seasons. Survey results indicate that long-haul travellers remain flexible in such situations—nearly one-third would adjust their plans to visit at quieter times, 28% would proceed despite long queues, 25% would explore less crowded areas within the destination and only 5% would consider changing destinations entirely.
Moreover, once arrived in Europe, travellers are showing a growing preference for multi-destination trips. The report shows that 94% of respondents planning to visit the continent in the first four months of 2025 intend to explore more than one country. On average, long-haul travellers are looking to visit 3.4 countries, with South Korean travellers leading the trend, aiming to visit an average of 5.2 countries per trip. This trend is growing across all key markets, especially among Australian travellers, who have seen a 15% increase from 2024.
