Why the economies of the eurozone are bouncing back

The recovery is uneven in nature – but the big picture for the European economy is actually very positive, writes Hamish McRae

France has told its citizens to avoid holidays in Portugal (and Spain) for now (Getty/iStock)

Europe is back. It is back as a travel destination for the many Britons seeking to go to the continent for holidays. That must be welcome. But the bigger point is that its economy is back, climbing towards its pre-pandemic levels.

Anyone travelling across the Channel will feel it. We all catch a sense of the level of economic activity when we travel. Are the shops busy? Is the hotel full? Is it easy to get a cab or rent a car at the airport? Until the past few weeks things have been quiet. This is not by any means just because UK holidaymakers were discouraged or banned, though that has been part of it. France told its citizens to avoid Spain or Portugal for summer holidays in response to the spike in Delta variant cases.

Travel more generally has been discouraged, and popular holiday destinations such as Mykonos, the Greek island, have suffered from outbreaks of the Covid-19 virus. It has clamped down on music and dancing and imposed a 1am curfew, leading to a string of cancellations. Normally it would attract a million visitors a year.