Developments in the balance of travel services: January 2020
23/03/2020 - Press Releases
Balance of travel services
Based on provisional data, the balance of travel services showed a surplus of €80 million in January 2020, compared with a surplus of €63 million in January 2019. More specifically, travel receipts in January 2020 rose by 24.4% to €287 million, from €230 million in January 2019, while travel payments also increased by 23.4% (January 2020: €207 million, January 2019: €167 million). The rise in travel receipts was due to a 4.0% increase in average expenditure per trip, as well as to an increase of 19.7% in inbound traveller flows. Net receipts from travel services offset 4.0% of the goods deficit and accounted for 20.9% of total net receipts from services.
Travel receipts
In January 2020, as mentioned previously, travel receipts increased by 24.4% year-on-year. In more detail, receipts from residents of the EU28 increased by 21.8% to €150 million and receipts from outside the EU28 increased by 27.7% (January 2020: €136 million, January 2019: €107 million). The rise in receipts from within the EU28 was due to a 35.0% increase in receipts from euro area residents (January 2020: €102 million, January 2019: €76 million), as receipts from residents of non-euro area EU28 countries remained relatively stable at €48 million. Among major countries of origin, receipts from Germany rose by 3.8% to €26 million, whereas receipts from France fell by 47.0% to €4 million. Receipts from the United Kingdom increased by 96.3% to €34 million. Turning to non-EU28 countries, receipts from Russia fell by 21.6% to €7 million, while receipts from the United States rose by 79.0% to €26 million.
Inbound traveller flows[1]
The number of inbound visitors in January 2020 rose by 19.7% year-on-year to 790 thousand. Specifically, visitor flows through airports increased by 29.6% and visitor flows through road border-crossing points increased by 8.7%. This overall increase was driven by higher visitor flows from both within the EU28 (up 15.7%) and outside the EU28 (up 25.3%). In greater detail, the number of visitors from within the euro area increased by 31.9% to 232 thousand, while visitors from the non-euro area EU28 countries also rose by 1.9% (January 2020: 212 thousand, January 2019: 208 thousand). Specifically, the number of visitors from Germany decreased by 1.1% to 67 thousand, while visitors from France also fell, by 8.5% to 11 thousand. By contrast, visitors from the United Kingdom rose by 89.7% to 72 thousand. Turning to non-EU28 countries, the number of visitors from Russia increased by 26.2% to 13 thousand, whereas the number of visitors from the United States rose by 29.2% to 32 thousand.
Note: The next Press Release on “Developments in the balance of travel services” for February 2020 will be published on 22 April 2020.
[1]Inbound traveller flows exclude cruise passengers (other than those recorded in the Border Survey).