Europe sees resurgence in U.S. tourists

Eurostar International said American tourists are returning to Europe as concerns about terrorist attacks ease, with the number of U.S. travelers on its Channel Tunnel express trains up 17 percent so far this year compared with the same period in 2016.

Demand for business travel has also picked up, particularly in Britain, where bookings were 4 percent higher in the first 10 weeks, Eurostar said Thursday after posting a $31 million loss for 2016, versus a $42 million year-earlier profit.

“With the return of travelers from the U.S. and business travel on the increase, the market is now rebounding strongly and we are optimistic about the growth prospects for the year,” Chief Executive Officer Nicolas Petrovic said. There has also been a resurgence in Chinese and Australian bookings, and projections for the key Easter travel period are good, he said in an interview.

Eurostar’s passenger tally fell 4 percent to 10 million in 2016 after a spate of terrorist attacks in Europe that targeted cities including Paris and Brussels.

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