The European Destinations Most Popular Among U.S. Visitors This Year

Just as the tourism landscape of Europe changes, with the rise of Asian inbound visitors, and smaller Euro countries rising fast in the charts, the habits of the traditional powerhouse feeder markets like United States is also changing. According to the latest quarterly report from European Travel Commission, Iceland and the former Eastern European countries are rising fast in popularity, though on a much smaller base.

The traditionally popular destinations of the UK, Spain, and Germany are all posting declines in 2013. Among mature destinations, only Italy has experienced an increase in arrivals from the U.S., numbers show.

The trendlines in visitor nights spent in these countries are similar.

The long term U.S. visits to various European regions bear out, according to data from ETC:

• Arrivals to Northern Europe are expected to increase 31.1% through 2017, to 6.7 million. Northern Europe's share of the US market is forecast to rise to 10.4% in 2017.
•  Arrivals to Western Europe are expected to increase 17.5% through 2017, to 9.9 million. Western Europe's share of the US market is forecast to fall to 15.3% in 2017.
• Arrivals to Southern Europe are expected to increase 15.6% through 2017, to 6.6 million. Southern Europe's share of the US market is forecast to fall to 11.3% in 2017.
• Arrivals to Central/Eastern Europe are expected to increase 37.0% through 2017, to 4.0 million. Central/Eastern Europe's share of the US market is forecast to rise to 8.4% in 2017.

» Related story you should read after this: Tourism in 2013: The Fastest Growing European Countries