Skift Take

Europe is finally seeing its fortunes turning. Almost the whole continent saw cases dropping rapidly in May, with an immediate effect on travel's recovery. France, Italy, Spain, and Germany are the big winners, but the UK is on the eve of a contraction in our score.

The Skift Recovery Index continued its upward journey in May, with the global average score hitting the 60 percent mark. This number indicates that the overall travel performance of May stands at 60 percent of the pre-pandemic performance in May 2019. Last month was especially a turning point for Europe, which since the end of the summer season last year has been at the bottom of the pile in terms of recovery. Many European Union countries reopened their borders to visitors from within the block, and on May 19, the EU also announced an easing of travel restrictions for non-EU visit