Europe’s ‘crazy’ tourism summer has already started. And it’s going to get much worse

CNN — Not since the 1970s has Steve Perillo, CEO and third-generation owner of New Jersey-based tour operator Perillo Tours, seen such a spike in travelers booking trips to Europe. “That’s when we noticed that was outrageous, and I called all my friends the night of Black Friday and said, ‘this is going to be crazy.’” In many parts of Europe, the craziness is already well underway, as droves of Europe-bound tourists follow in the well-trodden footsteps of their 2022 predecessors in last season’s post-Covid lockdown surge. “We’re very happy to welcome everybody, and we also hope that there will be more cultural tourists and less stag parties and groups like this,” Halbesma says. But should behave a little bit.” Meanwhile, in other destinations across the continent, popular shows like “The White Lotus” by HBO and Netflix’s “Emily in Paris” also have enticed hordes of selfie-snapping fans. Rice described the Sicilian capital as “absolutely insane” in early June, with tourists “spilling onto the street like it was Mardi Gras.” “I just haven’t seen that many people on a street on a Saturday night,” says Rice, who’s traveling around Europe for three months for the second summer in a row.