Airbnb to Promote Cultural Tourism in Europe

This week, Emmanuel Marill, Airbnb’s regional director for EMEA, will meet with the European Parliament Cultural Heritage Intergroup and give a presentation to members of the European Committee of the Regions, including local mayors, to advocate for the advantages of heritage travel for spreading tourism throughout Europe and to provide an update on Airbnb’s support for the EU’s short-term rental proposal.

The meetings coincide with Airbnb announcing new steps to promote and increase heritage tourism in Europe, including financing a new education programme on heritage preservation and promotion at European Historic Homes and establishing a relationship with the Demeures Historiques & Jardins de Belgique.

In May 2022, Airbnb introduced a new Historical Homes category, making it simpler for visitors to discover heritage homes in Spain, Germany, Italy, France, the UK, and now Belgium. Airbnb has donated almost ten million euros to European heritage organisations to help increase demand for heritage-related travel.

There are about 45,000 historical home listings on Airbnb, and just under 70% of them are in non-urban places, which helps spread the advantages of tourism to remote and less popular locations**. According to a prior investigation by Airbnb, the company’s flexible search tools, such as “Categories” like “historical homes” and “I’m Flexible,” help to shift bookings away from Europe’s busiest travel hubs and peak travel times in favour of more environmentally friendly travel trends.

“Heritage travel may play a crucial part in spreading tourism outside of urban areas and bringing its advantages to more rural locations, all while assisting in the preservation of historic properties for future generations. Between May and September of last year, the average historical home host on Airbnb in EMEA made over 1,200 euros***. “We look forward to expanding our work to promote heritage travel and historic home owners with partners in the EU in 2023,” said Emmanuel Marill, Airbnb Regional Director for EMEA.