Western Europe: Where the Tourists Went

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WESTERN EUROPE

In its schema on the Church in the Modern World, the Vatican Council should take note of the ecumenical value of tourism "because it is a new phenomenon and one capable of producing much good." This proposal last week by Bishop Giuseppe Garneri of Susa, Italy, could only be applauded by Europe's businessmen, though they are more interested in economics than ecumenism. They are totting up the results of a season that, while sunny for some of them, shows the need for some new approaches by others. In the 20 European nations that entertain two-thirds of the world's 80 million foreign vacationers, tourism generally increased this year, but growth rates slowed and spending declined in some of the brightest showplaces.

The Losers. In France, 1964 will be a great year for wine—but not tourism.

The $4 billion business that employs 1,000,000 Frenchmen was hurt by Europe's highest prices, frequent rudeness and poor service. "We have the reputation," commented Paris Match, "of being the least welcoming people on the Continent." The number of foreign tourists has increased—from 5,000,000 in 1958 to an estimated 6,500,000 this year—but they have cut their average stay from six days to only three, and spending has dropped 20% along the Riviera. To save on hotel and restaurant bills many visitors took the do-it-yourself approach to tourism, camping out in their own gear. At the same time, "Le Boom" enabled 10 million Frenchmen to travel abroad, almost half of them to Spain. Result: France's foreign-exchange surplus from tourism dropped from $200 million in 1962 to about $80 million this year.

Tourism scarcely expanded at all in Italy, which had predicted an 8% increase. "We have given up a colossal gold mine," wrote the weekly Epoca, as many publications complained that tourists were tired of being seduced by promoters and abandoned to price gougers.

Greece showed a 1% drop in tourists instead of its expected 20% gain, blamed it on the Cyprus crisis and the opening of resorts in the Balkans, which offered not only lower prices but the curiosity value of vacations on less familiar territory.

The Gainers. West Germany, which has more sparkling cities than any other European nation, has registered a 5% rise in visitors and a 15% increase in tourist spending so far this year, expects 10 million tourists by year's end. A far greater gain is in Spain, where tourism advanced by 35% and will bring in $900 million this year—enough to wipe out two-thirds of the country's overall trading deficit. The increase has been spectacular: from 3.5 million tourists in 1958 to 13 million this year, the highest in Europe. Neighboring Portugal, the newest "in" place for international travelers, reported a 50% increase in tourism, to $112 million.

The Iberian boom is due partly to happy climate, partly to courtesy. Spaniards are reminded almost daily by the government press about the dour effects that bad manners have had elsewhere—meaning across the Pyrenees in France.