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This collection covers internal tourism, in other words tourism flows within the country (domestic tourism) or from abroad to destinations in the country (inbound tourism). It only covers flows by tourist who stay at rented accommodation (with limitations of the scope, see further), and is therefore also known as "accommodation statistics".

Alternatively, this part of tourism statistics is sometimes referred to as "the supply side".

Accommodation statistics are a key part of the system of tourism statistics in the EU and have a long history of data collection. Annex I of Regulation (EU) 692/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council deals with accommodation statistics and includes 4 sections focusing on accommodation statistics, of which sections 1 and 2 include the requirements concerning rented accommodation (capacity and occupancy respectively). 

Data are collected by the competent national authorities of the Member States (generally the national statistical institute) and are compiled according to harmonised concepts and definitions and recommended methodological guidelines, before transmission to Eurostat. Most countries collect the data via sample or census surveys, sometimes in an automated manner. However, in a few cases data are compiled from a demand-side perspective (i.e. via visitor surveys or border surveys). Surveys on the occupancy of accommodation establishments are generally conducted on a monthly basis.

The concepts and definitions used in the collection of data are backed by the specifications described in the Methodological manual for tourism statistics.

Accommodation statistics comprise the following information:

Monthly data on tourism industries (NACE 55.1, 55.2 and 55.3)

Monthly occupancy of tourist accommodation establishments: arrivals and nights spent by residents and non-residents. Since reference year 2020, monthly data on nights spent is also available at NUTS 2 regional level (this series is transmitted by the Member States once per year).

Net occupancy rate of bed-places and bedrooms in hotels and similar accommodation

Annual data on tourism industries (NACE 55.1, 55.2 and 55.3)

Occupancy of tourist accommodation establishments: arrivals and nights spent by residents and non-residents

Capacity of tourist accommodation establishments: number of establishments, bedrooms and bed places

Regional data 

Annual occupancy (arrivals and nights spent by residents and non-residents) of tourist accommodation establishments at NUTS 2 level (broken down by month), at NUTS 3 level, by degree of urbanisation and by coastal/non-coastal area, and for selected cities. Some indicators are only available for nights spent, not for arrivals.

Annual data on number of establishments, bedrooms and bed places at NUTS 2 level, by degree of urbanisation and by coastal/non-coastal area

Data on number of establishments, bedrooms and bed places are available by activity at NUTS 3 level until 2011.

Please note that for paragraphs where no metadata for regional data has been specified, the regional metadata is identical to the metadata provided for the national data.

Data as of reference period 2012 (under Regulation (EU) 692/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council): 'tourist accommodation establishments' are described according to the NACE Rev. 2 classification (groups 55.1, 55.2 and 55.3).

Country codes are based on the ISO 3166 (International Organisation of Standardisation – alpha-2 format), with the exception of Greece which is coded as EL. For more details on the classification, please consult: Country codes.

For data up to 2011 (reference year), the classification system applicable (under Directive 95/57/EC) is described in the document: "Community methodology on Tourism statistics", which is available from OPOCE, under the reference: ISBN 92-828-1921-3.

Regional data

The territorial classification of regional data is broken down according to the NUTS classification.

Data is also available by the degree of urbanisation (thinly populated area, intermediate density area , densely populated area) and the coastal or non-coastal character of the locality where the establishments are located. Since reference year 2020, data on nights spent is also available for selected cities.

From reference period 2012 onwards (under Regulation (EU) 692/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council), the statistics cover groups 55.1, 55.2 and 55.3 of NACE Rev.2.

Up to reference period 2011 (under Council Directive 95/57/EC on tourism statistics), the statistics cover enterprises that regularly or occasionally provide overnight accommodation for tourists. This largely (but not exhaustively) overlaps with the activities that fall under NACE Rev.2 groups 55.1, 55.2 and 55.3.

From reference period 2012 onwards, accommodation statistics consist of harmonised data collected by the Member States in the frame of the Regulation (EU) 692/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council. Up to reference period 2011, accommodation statistics consist of harmonised data collected by the Member States in the frame of the Council Directive on tourism statistics 95/57/EC .

Available statistics include variables on capacity in tourist accommodation establishments (number of establishments, number of bedrooms and number of bedplaces) as well as on occupancy in tourist accommodation establishments (nights spent, arrivals and occupancy rates of bed places and - as of 2012 - occupancy rates of bedrooms).

Number of establishments

The local unit is an enterprise or part thereof situated in a geographically identified place. At or from this place economic activity is carried out for which - save for certain exceptions - one or more persons work (even if only part-time) for one and the same enterprise. The accommodation establishment conforms to the definition of local unit as the production unit. This is irrespective of whether the accommodation of tourists is the main or secondary activity. This means that all establishments are classified in the accommodation sector if their capacity exceeds the national minimum even if the major part of turnover may come from restaurant or other services.

Number of bedrooms

A bedroom is the unit formed by one room or groups of rooms constituting an indivisible rental whole in an accommodation establishment or dwelling. Rooms may be single, double or multiple, depending on whether they are equipped permanently to accommodate one, two or several people (it is useful to classify the rooms respectively). The number of existing rooms is the number the establishment usually has available to accommodate guests (overnight visitors), excluding rooms used by the employees working for the establishment. If a room is used as a permanent residence (for more than a year) it should not be included. Bathrooms and toilets do not count as a room. An apartment is a special type of room. It consists of one or more spaces/rooms and has a kitchen unit and its own bathroom and toilet. Apartments may be with hotel services (in apartment hotels) or without hotel services. Cabins, cottages, huts, chalets, bungalows and villas can be treated like bedrooms and apartments, i.e. to be let as a unit.

Number of bed places

The number of bed places in an establishment or dwelling is determined by the number of persons who can stay overnight in the beds set up in the establishment (dwelling), ignoring any extra beds that may be set up by customer request. The term bed place applies to a single bed, double beds are counted as two bed places. The unit serves to measure the capacity of any type of accommodation. A bed place is also a place on a pitch or in a boat on a mooring to accommodate one person. One camping pitch should equal four bed places if the actual number of bed places is not known.

Nights spent by residents and non-residents

A night spent (or overnight stay) is each night a guest / tourist (resident or non-resident) actually spends (sleeps or stays) in a tourist accommodation establishment or non-rented accommodation.

Overnight stays are calculated by country of residence of the guest and by month. Normally the date of arrival is different from the date of departure but persons arriving after midnight and leaving on the same day are included in overnight stays. A person should not be registered in two or more accommodation establishments at the same time.

Arrivals of residents and non-residents

An arrival is defined as a person (tourist) who arrives at a tourist accommodation establishment and checks in or arrives at non-rented accommodation. But in the scope of the Regulation concerning European statistics on tourism, this variable is not collected for the latter type of accommodation.

Statistically there is not much difference if, instead of arrivals, departures are counted. No age limit is applied: children are counted as well as adults, even in the case when the overnight stays of children might be free of charge. Arrivals are registered by country of residence of the guest and by month. The arrivals of same-day visitors spending only a few hours during the day (no overnight stay, the date of arrival and departure are the same) at the establishment are excluded from accommodation statistics.

Net occupancy of bed places

The occupancy rate of bed places in reference period is obtained by dividing the total number of overnight stays by the number of the bed places on offer (excluding extra beds) and the number of days when the bed places are actually available for use (net of seasonal closures and other temporary closures for decoration, by police order, etc.). The result is multiplied by 100 to express the occupancy rate as a percentage.

Net occupancy of bedrooms

The net occupancy rate of bedrooms in reference period is obtained by dividing the total number of bedrooms used during the reference period (i.e. the sum of the bedrooms in use per day) by the total number of bedrooms available for the reference period (i.e. the sum of bedrooms available per day). The result is multiplied by 100 to express the occupancy rate as a percentage.

Country of residence

A person is considered to be a resident in a country (place) if the person:

- has lived for most of the past year or 12 months in that country (place), or

- has lived in that country (place) for a shorter period and intends to return within 12 months to live in that country (place).

International tourists should be classified according to their country of residence, not according to their citizenship. From a tourism standpoint any person who moves to another country (place) and intends to stay there for more than one year is immediately assimilated with other residents of that country (place). Citizens residing abroad who return to their country of citizenship on a temporary visit are included with non-resident visitors. Citizenship is indicated in the person's passport (or other identification document), while country of residence has to be determined by means of question or inferred e.g. from the person's address.

According to Regulation (EU) 692/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning European statistics on tourism, 'tourist accommodation establishment' means a local kind-of-activity unit as defined in the Annex to Council Regulation (EEC) No 696/93 providing as a paid service (although the price might be partially or fully subsidised) short-term or short-stay accommodation services [see Article 2(1,l)].

Tourism accommodation establishments are classified and described in groups according to NACE Rev. 2 classification as follows:

• I551 (hotels and similar accommodation)
• I552 (holiday and other short-stay accommodation);
• I553 (camping grounds, recreational vehicle parks and trailer parks).

For the data up to 2011, according to Council Directive 95/57/EC on tourism statistics the statistical unit relates to 'collective tourist accommodation establishments' defined as an accommodation establishment that provides overnight lodging for the traveller in a room or some other unit, but the number of places it provides must be greater than a specified minimum for groups of persons exceeding a single family unit and all the places in the establishment must come under a common commercial-type management, even if it is non-profit-making.

Collective tourist accommodation establishments (A001) consist of :

• Hotels and similar establishments (A100);
• Other collective accommodation establishments (B100) (Tourist campsites (B010), holiday dwellings (B020), other collective accommodation (B040).

In order to create long time series, the following correspondence has been established between statistical unit as defined by the Directive and by the Regulation:

A001 = I551+I552+I553

A100 = I551

B100 = I552+I553

B020 = I552

B010 = I553

Though the statistical unit as defined by the Regulation and as defined by the Directive are quite similar, breaks in time series due to a change in scope or revised methodologies can be observed between the reference period 2011 and 2012.

All local kind-of-activity unit under NACE 55.1, NACE55.2 and NACE 55.3 according to the NACE Rev. 2 classification in use during the reference period, providing paid short-stay accommodation services.

To reduce the burden on administrations and reporting units, the Regulation (data as of 2012) allows certain limitations in the scope. These limitations are clearly defined. Member States can opt to exclude from the scope of observation those establishments having less than ten bedplaces (Member States accounting for less than 1% of nights spent in the EU can increase this threshold to twenty bedplaces). An estimate of the total number of nights spent during the reference year by residents and non-residents in the tourist accommodation establishments excluded from the scope of observation shall be transmitted annually.

EU individual Member States, EU regions and EFTA countries.

EU aggregates are calculated when sufficient data are available.

Data referring to (potential) candidate countries to the EU are also published if available.

Data according to Regulation (EU) 692/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council are available from 2012 onwards.

Data according to Council Directive 95/57/EC on tourism statistics are available from 1990 onwards (depending on the Member State) and up to 2011.

Regional data

Data are available from 1990 onwards. The set of regional breakdowns was extended in 2012 and in 2019.

[not applicable]

Number of establishments, bedrooms, bedplaces, arrivals and nights spent are expressed in absolute values and in percentage change compared to the corresponding period of the previous year.

The total nights spent are also calculated per thousands of inhabitants (tourism intensity) and per km2. 

The nights spent by residents and nights spent by non-residents are calculated in percentage of the total nights spent.

Occupancy rates are expressed in percentage.

Occupancy data refer to a specific month or specific calendar year.

In terms of capacity data, the reference period/date should be the maximum capacity over the reference year. This maximum capacity should be considered at the level of the establishment: the peak value for the individual establishment and not the peak month at aggregate level for e.g. a NACE and/or a region.

Regional data

Idem

From reference year 2012 onwards, the collection of statistical information in the field of tourism is regulated by the Regulation (EU) 692/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 July 2011 and its Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 1051/2011 of 20 October 2011.

Up to reference year 2011,  the collection of statistical information in the field of tourism was regulated by the Council Directive 95/57/EC on tourism statistics.

Regional data

Same legal acts apply to regional data.

Regions are defined according the NUTS specification as specified in Regulation (EC) No 1059/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 May 2003 on the establishment of a common classification of territorial units for statistics (NUTS).  

Eurostat tourism statistics also serve as an input for a.o. OECD and UNWTO datasets.

Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 on European statistics (recital 24 and Article 20(4)) of 11 March 2009 (OJ L 87, p. 164), stipulates the need to establish common principles and guidelines ensuring the confidentiality of data used for the production of European statistics and the access to these confidential data with due account for technical developments and the requirements of users in a democratic society. 

In some cases, Member States transmit data to Eurostat with a flag confidential. Confidential data are omitted from public databases or publications.

With the aim to prevent statistical units to be identified, either directly or indirectly, Member States apply frequency and dominancy rules. These rules are not harmonised and can differ from one Member State to another. 

All tourism data is stored and processed in a secure environment.

Tourism statistics releases are announced in the Eurostat release calendar. This concerns data releases, news articles and updates to (Statistics Explained) articles. The announced release dates refer to the publication of EU aggregates, country level data is published as soon as it is validated and fit for publication. 

National & regional data

Data are released via Eurobase shortly after reception of the data transmitted by the Member State. Data are released when all validation rules are respected and when they are of sufficient quality.

EU aggregates for monthly data are usually published in the middle of the month following the reporting by the NSIs (eg. January YearX -> transmission by mid March YearX -> EU aggregates released by mid April YearX)

EU aggregates for annual data are generaly published towards the end of Q3 of the year following the reference year (eg. Year X -> transmission by end June YearX+1 -> EU aggregates released by end Q3 YearX+1).

Via Eurostat website.

In line with the Community legal framework and the European Statistics Code of Practice Eurostat disseminates European statistics on Eurostat's website (see item 10 - 'Accessibility and clarity') respecting professional independence and in an objective, professional and transparent manner in which all users are treated equitably. The detailed arrangements are governed by the Eurostat protocol on impartial access to Eurostat data for users.

Annually and monthly

Regional data

Annually

News articles on-line. News releases are issued at 11 a.m CET on Eurostat's website.

Publications

An overview is available on Eurostat's website :http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/tourism/publications

Statistics Explained

Statistics Explained is an official Eurostat website presenting many statistical topics in an easily understandable way. Together, the articles make up an encyclopedia of European statistics, completed by a statistical glossary clarifying all terms used and by numerous links to further information and the very latest data and metadata, a portal for occasional and regular users alike.

The page, which provides a clickable list of all articles in Statistics Explained on tourism, can be accessed under the following link:

http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/Tourism

Regional data

See chapter on tourism in Eurostat Regional Yearbook.

Tourism statistics are disseminated in the on-line database .

Not applicable.

Overview of tourism statistics: http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/tourism/overview

The Methodological manual for tourism statistics contains a comprehensive set of recommendations on the compilation of the tourism statistics.

Further methodological documents are available on the tourism statistics related methodology section: http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/tourism/methodology/manuals-and-guidelines

National metadata reports are available on Eurostat's website.

Tourism statistics are compiled by the competent national statistics authorities. Data are collected and compiled in line with Regulation (EU) 692/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council  and with the Code of Practice applicable to all processes for collecting and compiling European statistics.

After reception of the data, thorough quality control and validation checks are performed by Eurostat before releasing the data.

According to Regulation (EU) 692/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council (Article 6 (4)3), every year, Member States shall provide the Commission with a report on the quality of the data. The report shall be provided within 9 months after the end of the reference year.

All aspects of the basic principles of quality of European statistics, listed in Regulation 223/2009 on European statistics are evaluated by Eurostat.

• Timeliness and completeness: compliance with transmission deadlines and compliance with the data requirements is evaluated on a regular basis. 
• Punctuality: efficient validation tools and intensive compliance monitoring improves the punctuality of data disseminated on Eurostat public database.
• Accessibility and clarity: data are available and disseminated on Eurostat's online database (Eurobase) and via online articles. Breaks in series, when observed, are flagged.
• Accuracy: evolutions are systematically verified. When huge variations are observed, the reporting country is asked to explain/confirm.
• Coherence and comparability: annual data are compared with monthly data. The comparison is generally good.

The EU is a major tourist destination, with five Member States among the world’s top ten destinations for holidaymakers, according to UNWTO data. Tourism is an important activity in the EU which has the potential to contribute towards employment and economic growth, as well as to development in rural, peripheral or less-developed areas. These characteristics drive the demand for reliable and harmonised statistics within this field, as well as within the wider context of regional policy and sustainable development policy areas.

With the adoption of Regulation (EU) 692/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning European statistics on tourism, timeliness of accommodation statistics has significantly improved. As of 2020, monthly data are transmitted to Eurostat within six weeks after the reference month.

Tourism can also be a significant factor in the development of European regions. Infrastructure created for tourism purposes contributes to local development, while jobs that are created or maintained can help counteract industrial or rural decline.

Measured directly via download statistics for publications and feedback on publications or presentations.

User satisfaction surveys (for all Eurostat statistics) are regularly conducted.

Due to the thresholds that a number of Member States apply (see §3.6), the data are not always representative for the totality of collective tourist accommodation establishments.

Furthermore, the data is representing arrivals and nights spent at such collective tourist accommodation establishments and therefore not representing all domestic or inbound tourism.

To address to a certain extent the above issues, as of reference year 2018, Eurostat publishes separate series on accommodation booked via online collaborative economy platforms.

Data are, in most of the Member States, based on census surveys. Consequently sampling error is minimised.

Undercoverage may occur when establishments are not included in the register used by the country. Mainly small establishments are concerned. 

Not available.

Not available.

According to the Regulation (EU) 692/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council:

• Annual data should be sent 6 months after the reference period;
• Monthly data should be sent 6 weeks after the reference period;

Regional data

Data should be sent 6 months after the reference period.

Data are released between one day and one month after the delivery.

To a certain extent, the application of national thresholds for data collection jeopardizes the comparability of the data.

Although the statistical unit as defined by the Regulation and as defined by the Directive are quite similar (see 3.5), breaks can be observed between the reference periods 2011 and 2012.

Regional data

Comparability of regional data over time can be affected by breaks in the NUTS classification.

More data usable for cross-check are available in various collections from Eurostat's website (Regional, Social, Employment and SBS statistics). Cross domain checks are made at irregular intervals.

The quality checks and validation rules include checks on the internal coherence across tables and across reference periods.

Not measured in a systematic way.

Article 8 of Regulation (EU) 692/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council specifies that by 12 August 2016, and every 5 years thereafter, the Commission shall submit an evaluation report to the European Parliament and to the Council on tourism statistics, in particular on their relevance and the burden on business.

No revision policy is defined in the Regulation (EU) 692/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council.

Released data are revised on an ad-hoc basis, following reception of revised data sent by the Member States.

Tourism data, especially monthly data, are subject to revisions. 

The majority of the Member States compile the information on the basis of sample surveys or census of accommodation establishments from business register. However, in a few cases the data are compiled from a demand-side perspective (i.e. via visitor surveys or border surveys).

Annual / Monthly

Regional data

Data are compiled and transmitted on an annual basis (but collected via the monthly surveys).

Tourism capacity/occupancy data are collected by Member States by the means of business surveys (in some cases capacity data are available directly from tourism registers).

These figures are transmitted exclusively via eDAMIS and respecting the formats as specified by Eurostat.

Data comprise four compulsory datasets and one optional dataset:

Monthly data must be transmitted within six weeks after the end of the reference month; annual data within six months after the end of the reference year.

Data validation is done at the level of Member States and at the level of Eurostat.

Member States should send data file:

• Complete
• Consistent with format description
• Internally consistent

Eurostat makes additional validations such as:

• Checking the size of revisions
• Checking the evolutions
• Looking at the plausibility of indicators
• Comparing annual/monthly data
• Making some inter-datasets comparisons

Totals computation

Some totals are not provided by the Member States but calculated directly by Eurostat, for example:

• The total of resident and non-resident is calculated for the number of nights and arrivals
• The total of tourist accommodation establishments is calculated as the sum of the three NACE (I551+I552+I553)

Indicator calculation

Some indicators are calculated and disseminated on Eurostat's website :

• Growth rate of total number of nights spent
• Share of nights spent by non-residents in total number of nights spent
• Tourism intensity (total number of nights spent per 1 000 inhabitants) 
• Nights spent per km2

European aggregates

EU aggregates are automatically calculated when data from all countries composing the aggregate are present. In case of missing countries, EU aggregates include estimated values for the missing countries; EU aggregates are only calculated if a minimum number of countries, representing a minimum share of EU tourism, is available.

Not applicable.

Special warnings 

Please consult the file containing footnotes in "Annex" at the bottom of the page.