The Small European Cities Asian Tourists Are Visiting Now
Move over Paris and London. Asian travellers have now shifted their eye on other European destinations in a big way. Although London and Paris have not lost their lure, bookings for smaller cities have escalated at a faster rate, based on an Agoda report.
Of course, the UK and France were still well represented. Glasgow and Oxford made it into the top five, while Avignon took the eighth spot, as indicated on the leading accommodation site.
John Brown, Chief Operating Officer of Agoda, suggests that Asian travellers are now broadening their reach and are looking at other popular European destinations, having visited the bigger cities.
The study compared millions of hotel bookings made by Agoda travellers in Asia in 2014 and 2015. Hallstatt, Austria, was the fastest growing European destination, with more than twice as many bookings in 2015 as the year before, followed by Fussen, Germany and Glasgow, Scotland.
The report implies that Asians are now leaning more towards quiet, homely cities, and it’s easy to see why. Hallstatt, Austria, a beautiful ancient salt mine village and UNESCO world heritage site, has been a popular destination for Chinese tourists, so much so that they built a replica in Guangdong in 2012. It’s not just Chinese tourists, though – visitors from all over Asia have contributed to its growing popularity.
Second-placed Fussen, Germany, home to a 19th century castle, Neuschwanstein. Castles in general seem to be a popular draw for Asian tourists, a fact proven by third ranked Glasgow, along with the other cities, which made the list, namely Cesky Krumlov in Czech Republic, Heidelberg in Germany and Salzburg of Austria, all of which boast their own iconic castles.
In case you’re keeping score in anticipation of your next Europe vacation, these are the top Ten European Cities Asian travellers have been favouring in the last year…
- Hallstatt, Austria
- Fussen, Germany
- Glasgow, Scotland
- Oxford, UK
- Cesky Krumlov
- Heidelberg, Germany
- Salzburg, Germany
- Avignon, France
- Grindelwald, Switzerland
- Interlaken, Switerzland
Photo credits: Main (Agoda/Shutterstock), Glasgow (Harry McCord@Freeimages), Interlaken (Dave Barnett @ Freeimages)
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