Travel

Europeans are choosing offbeat holiday destinations this summer – and it’s for a simple, practical reason

Battling it out for beach umbrellas and pushing past tourists in crowded destinations have now become the bugbears of European travellers

Funen, Odense (old town street) in Denmark, a country which has become a popular tourist destination, favoured for its quieter retreats and scenic getaways

Europeans are gearing up for their beloved summer vacation season, and new data from the European Travel Commission (ETC) shows that they’re prioritizing a new trip-planning criterion as a result of the last three years: A lack of crowds.

After pleasant weather and attractive deals, the report finds, Europeans say the next most important criteria for choosing a destination on their continent is that it “is not crowded.”

That’s a bump from fourth to third ...