Quote: (03-06-2017 07:26 AM)superschalk Wrote:
Sorry mate your statement is totally wrong. There is no decline in tourism in Western Europe.
Au contraire: There has been a major decline, mostly due to terrorism attacks; this has been reported for some time:
"European tourism plunges after Brussels and Paris terror attacks"
https://www.rt.com/business/337612-belgi...s-tourism/
"Chinese tourists shun western Europe in wake of violence as travel to France drops 15 per cent"
http://www.scmp.com/news/china/money-wea...p-european
"Airport closure, dip in Chinese arrivals snap tourism growth for first time since 2009"
http://www.dailymirror.lk/article/Airpor...24924.html
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Spain for example just had a record 2016 with over 75 Million visits. Only about 2 Million of these visitors were coming from the US.
Even if those number were accurate, they don't account for the money spent, or the type of "visits"; I was discussing tourism, not visits, which is a different thing altogether. Many (if not most) "visits" are not touristic in the common sense, like Americans going abroad on holiday, but rather shopping jaunts for the day over the border, which benefit the host country far less.
And giving your argument the best credit, you underestimate how important 2 million (relatively) wealthy American tourists are a year to a country with a minimal industrial base like Spain, and which has major and long-standing economic problems of its own. Tough talking from those who certainly are not operating a business based on tourism, but any significant decline in high-spending international tourists (like USA visitors) makes a major dent in the revenues of local tourism markets, for hotels, restaurants, tour companies, etc. Even if the decline is small by percentage, it is major by its effect on marginal profits, which is what really matters.
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So now let´s say no one of these 2 Million US citizens will come next year. It still leaves Spain with 73 Million tourists. Do you think these two Million missing tourists will destroy the whole tourism industry?
Nice straw man, I never said the industry would be 'destroyed'. Of course drunk Brits will still go to Ibiza, Frenchmen will trip to Basque Country, etc. But nonetheless, any visa requirements will further shrink the tourism market at a time Western Europe is already losing money and undergoing major demographic and economic "changes" (i.e. collapse).
In any case we all got suckered into arguing over something that won't happen.