ABSTRACT
In product life cycle terms, Europe as a tourism destination has passed from the strong growth to the mature stage. Having led the expansion of tourism in the second half of the 20th century and been the principal tourist-receiving region, Europe has below-average growth prospects over the first two decades of the 21st century. However, while competition is eroding Europe's market share with virtually every country (and territory) in the world now embracing tourism as a key strategic economic sector, Europe will still record substantive growth. The reasons are as diverse as the forecast strong expansion over the first quarter of the century in outbound Asian tourism and growing tourism product diversification in European countries, catering for newly emergent market segments.
