French to lead Europe's travellers back to growth?

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Analyst JRA has released its first short-term forecasts for passenger numbers for the months ahead, following interviews with 6,000 air travellers in leading European markets France, Germany and the UK. The survey measures travellers' intentions to travel and confidence in the market, a crucial benchmark for retailers.

And early figures for the second and third quarters are encouraging, particularly among French travellers. For this market, passenger growth is forecast of over 9% in the second quarter of 2002, measured against the same period in 2001. This should rise further in the third quarter. Most of this growth will be driven by traffic through Paris Charles de Gaulle airport, said JRA.

But forecasts are still well below a previous JRA study made in August 2001, before the September attacks. These projections are between 3% and 8% down on last year's forecasts.

JRA said: "It is still to early to assess the longer term impact on passenger numbers but first indications show a robustness in the French position."

For further information, please contact Jane Robinson at:
JRA
Rue du Rhone 14
1204 Geneva
Switzerland
Tel: +41 22 819 1818
Fax: +41 22 819 9484
Email: info@jradata.com