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Statistics Explained

Data extracted in November 2024.

Planned article update: October 2025.

Tourism statistics - annual results for the accommodation sector

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Data extracted in November 2024.

Planned article update: October 2025.

Highlights

Nights spent in EU tourist accommodation in 2023: up by 6.8% compared with 2022, exceeding the pre-Covid-19 levels.

In 2023, tourists from European countries accounted for five out of six nights spent by international guests in EU tourist accommodation.

Figure showing the total nights spent by international guests in EU tourism accommodation 2023 by world region of residence of the guest; % of total nights spent by international guests.
Nights spent by international guests in EU tourism accommodation 2023
Source: Eurostat

This publication focuses on developments in the tourist accommodation sector in the European Union.

Following continuous growth from 2009 until 2019, tourism in the EU was among the most affected sectors by the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. The number of nights spent in EU tourist accommodation establishments in 2020 fell to half compared with 2019. However, 2021 showed clear signs of recovery, reaching nearly two-thirds of 2019 levels. The upward trend continued in 2022, when it reached 96% of 2019 levels, while in 2023 it had surpassed the pre-pandemic levels by 2.4%. Short term indicators for monthly data showed that the number of nights spent during the first six months of 2024 slightly exceeded the same period of 2023 (see Tourism statistics - nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments).


Nights spent in EU tourist accommodation in 2023: up 6.8% compared with 2022, exceeding pre-Covid-19 levels by 2.4%.

Over the period 2009-2019, the number of nights spent in EU tourist accommodation establishments grew by 40%. In particular, there were significant increases in the number of nights spent by international guests (53%) while the number of nights spent by residents during domestic trips increased by 30%. In 2020, tourism was among the most affected sectors by the Covid-19 pandemic with a sharp drop of 51% in the number of nights spent compared with 2019. In 2021 there were clear signs of recovery, with 29% more nights spent in EU tourist accommodation compared with 2020, while the upward trend continued in 2022, with 50% more nights spent compared with 2021 (see Figure 1). In 2023, the growth in tourism continued, recording 6.8% more nights spent in tourism accommodation compared with 2022 (188 million nights, or over half a million more overnights stays each day) and surpassing for the first time the pre-pandemic levels.

Line chart showing indexed trends in nights spent in EU tourist accommodation establishments. Three lines represent total nights spent, nights spent by international tourists and nights spent by domestic tourists over the years 2009 to 2023. The year 2009 is indexed at 100.
Figure 1: Trends in nights spent in EU tourist accommodation establishments, 2009-2023 (index:2009=100)
Source: Eurostat (tour_occ_ninat)

With almost 3 billion nights spent in 2023 (see Table 1), EU tourism exceeded 2019 levels by 2.4%. Spain, France, Italy and Germany each recorded more than 400 million nights spent in 2023. Jointly, these four countries accounted for more than six out of ten nights spent in the EU in 2023.

Looking at the distribution by type of accommodation, hotels and similar accommodation were clearly the most popular (62.6%), followed by holiday and other short-stay accommodation such as rented apartments (23.6%) and camping grounds, recreational vehicle parks and trailer parks (13.8%). However, there were significant regional differences: in Bulgaria, Cyprus and Malta hotels covered more than 90% of the entire market for rented accommodation; almost half of the tourism nights in Croatia were spent in holiday and other short-stay accommodation, while the highest shares for campsites were observed in Luxembourg, France and Denmark, with more than 30% of total nights spent.

Table showing nights spent in tourist accommodation establishments in the EU, individual EU Member States, EFTA countries, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Albania, Serbia, Türkiye and Kosovo in the year 2023.
Table 1: Nights spent in tourist accommodation establishments, 2023
Source: Eurostat (tour_occ_ninat) (tour_occ_nim)

The increase at EU level compared with 2022 reflected positive trends in all EU countries. Malta, Ireland, Slovakia and Latvia reported the highest increases of more than 12% compared with 2022 (see Figure 2). Comparing, however, with the pre-Covid-19 figures, Latvia and Slovakia still had the widest gap to bridge, reaching less than 85% of 2019 levels. On the other hand, Ireland (24.7%), Luxembourg (22.2%), the Netherlands (15.3%) and Portugal (9.4%) showed the largest growth compared with the period before the Covid-19 pandemic.

Vertical bar chart showing percentage change nights spent in tourist accommodation in the EU, individual EU Member States, EFTA countries, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Albania, Serbia, Türkiye and Kosovo. Each country has two columns representing the percentage change for the year 2023 with 2022 and 2023 with 2019.
Figure 2: Nights spent in tourist accommodation, 2023 compared with 2022 and 2019 (% change)
Source: Eurostat (tour_occ_ninat) (tour_occ_nim)

All three types of tourist accommodation showed increases for 2023 compared with 2022. The number of nights spent in hotels increased by 8.2%, remaining however slightly lower compared with 2019 (-0.7%). Nights spent in holiday and other short-stay accommodation and nights spent at campsites increased by 5.4% and 3.2% respectively in 2023 compared with 2022, exceeding 2019 levels (5.4% and 12.5% respectively), as shown in Table 2.

Table showing percentage change nights spent in tourist accommodation by type of establishment in the EU, individual EU Member States, EFTA countries, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Albania, Serbia, Türkiye and Kosovo for the year 2023 compared with 2022 and 2019.
Table 2: Percentage change in nights spent in tourist accommodation, by type of establishment, 2023 compared with 2022 and with 2019 (% change)
Source: Eurostat (tour_occ_ninat) (tour_occ_nim)

Taking into account the population of the country (tourism intensity), Croatia (with 24.0 nights), Malta (with 18.2 nights) and Cyprus (with 17.0 nights) recorded the highest numbers of nights spent per inhabitant over the year 2023 (see verical columns in Figure 3). In the EU, an average of 6.6 guest nights were recorded in relation to the overall population of 448.8 million in 2023, only 0.2 nights fewer compared with 2019 when tourism intensity at EU level was 6.4 nights spent per inhabitant (see square markers in Figure 3).

Vertical bar chart showing tourism intensity as nights spent in tourist accommodation establishments per inhabitant in the EU, individual EU Member States, EFTA countries, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Albania, Serbia, Türkiye and Kosovo. Each country column represents the year 2023 and scatter plots 2019.
Figure 3: Tourism intensity, nights spent in tourist accommodation establishments per inhabitant, 2023 and 2019
Source: Eurostat (tour_occ_ninat) (tour_occ_nim)


Ireland recorded the highest increase in nights spent by international guests in 2023 (47.9% compared with 2022)

The outbreak of the pandemic in March 2020 caused a shift towards domestic tourism. In 2023 compared with 2019, nights spent by international guests increased slightly by 1.2%, while nights spent by domestic tourists increased by 3.4% (see Table 3). The share of nights spent by international guests in EU tourist accommodation dropped from 47.3% in 2019 to 29.0% in 2020, then in 2021 this share increased to 32.0% and further to 44.0% in 2022. In 2023 it recorded a close value to pre-pandemic levels, 46.8% of total nights.

Table showing percentage change nights spent in tourist accommodation by origin of the guest in the EU, individual EU Member States, EFTA countries, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Albania, Serbia, Türkiye and Kosovo for the year 2023 compared with 2022 and 2019.
Table 3: Nights spent in tourist accommodation, by origin of the guest, 2023 compared with 2022 and with 2019 (% change)
Source: Eurostat (tour_occ_ninat) (tour_occ_nim)

In 2023 compared with 2022, nights spent by international guests in EU tourist accommodation increased by 13.7%, reflected in all EU countries. The lowest increases, below 10%, were reported by Denmark, Croatia and Luxembourg. In 2023, Ireland recorded the highest increase in nights spent by international guests (47.9% compared with 2022), yet the nights spent by domestic guests dropped by 11.8% compared with the previous year. Figure 4 shows for each EU country, how close overnight stays by international tourists in 2023 came to 2019 levels, the year before the pandemic. Twelve EU countries exceeded 2019 levels for international guests, while international tourists in Latvia in 2023 spent less than 70% of the nights they had spent in 2019.

Vertical bar chart showing indexed nights spent by international guests in tourist accommodation in the EU, individual EU Member States, EFTA countries, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Albania, Serbia, Türkiye and Kosovo. Each country column represents the year 2023 and scatter plots 2022. A line across all countries represents the year 2019 indexed at 100.
Figure 4: Nights spent by international guests in tourist accommodation, 2022 and 2023 compared with 2019 (2019=100)
Source: Eurostat (tour_occ_ninat) (tour_occ_nim)

In 2023, 1.5% more domestic nights were spent in EU tourist accommodation compared with 2022. Greece (13.7%), Slovakia (10.8%) and Bulgaria (9.1%) recorded the largest increases, while 11 EU countries reported drops in domestic nights. Given the fact that domestic tourism recovered faster than international tourism, nights spent by domestic guests in the EU in 2023 increased to reach 2019 levels (3.4%). Figure 5 shows that in 23 EU countries, domestic nights recovered completely in 2023 and even surpassed 2019 levels, while in all other countries domestic nights are much closer to 2019 levels compared with international nights. The same pattern can be seen for the EFTA countries, which surpassed in 2023 the pre-pandemic level.

Vertical bar chart showing indexed nights spent by domestic guests in tourist accommodation in the EU, individual EU Member States, EFTA countries, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Albania, Serbia, Türkiye and Kosovo. Each country column represents the year 2023 and scatter plots 2022. A line across all countries represents the year 2019 indexed at 100.
Figure 5: Nights spent by domestic guests in tourist accommodation, 2022 and 2023 compared with 2019 (2019=100)
Source: Eurostat (tour_occ_ninat) (tour_occ_nim)


Paris, the most visited city in the EU

From reference year 2020 on, Eurostat publishes data on nights spent in selected cities, including all capitals and cities with a minimum population of 200 000 inhabitants as well as some other cities that are of particular importance for tourism. In 2023, around 76 million nights were spent in Paris, the most visited city in the EU, followed by Roma and Berlin with respectively 37 and 29 million nights.

Table 4 shows for each EU country the top 3 cities in terms of nights spent in tourist accommodation. With the exception of Bulgaria, Spain, Croatia and Cyprus the most visited city was the capital city of each country. In Latvia, Lithuania and Malta, the capital city accounted for more than half of the total nights spent in the country. Very large shares of the capital cities were also recorded in Estonia (47.8%), Luxembourg (33.3%), Hungary (32.7%), Copenhagen (31.7%), Czechia (30.2%) and Portugal (22.7%).

Table showing nights spent in tourist accommodation in the top three cities in the EU, individual EU Member States and EFTA countries for the year 2023.
Table 4: Nights spent in tourist accommodation, top 3 cities in terms of nights spent, 2023
Source: Eurostat (tour_occ_ninc) (tour_occ_nim)


In 2023, tourists from European countries accounted for five out of six nights spent by international guests in EU tourist accommodation

In 2023, more than half (53%) of nights in tourist accommodation were spent by domestic tourists, travelling inside their own country, while 28% were spent by internationals from other EU countries and 18% by non-EU guests (see Figure 6).

Pie chart showing percentage nights spent in EU tourist accommodation by origin of guest. Three segments represent domestic, international from other EU countries and international from outside the EU for the year 2023.
Figure 6: Nights spent in EU tourist accommodation by origin of the guest, 2023 (%)
Source: Eurostat (tour_occ_ninraw)

The majority of the 1.4 billion nights spent by international guests were by tourists coming from other EU countries (62%), while 21% were spent by tourists coming from other European countries. Only 16% of non-resident nights were spent by tourists from other continents (see Figure 7).

Pie chart showing nights spent by international guests in EU tourist accommodation as percentage of total international nights spent by world region of residence of the guest for the year 2023.
Figure 7: Nights spent by international guests in EU tourist accommodation, by world region of residence of the guest, 2023 (% of total international nights)
Source: Eurostat (tour_occ_ninraw)

EU countries display varying patterns in terms of total nights spent by origin of the guest. Romania, Poland, and Germany saw a significant majority of domestic tourists, with over 80% of tourism accommodation nights accounted for by local visitors. Similarly, Sweden, Finland, France, Slovakia, Lithuania and Denmark also show high shares of domestic guests, each exceeding 60%. In contrast, a substantial portion of nights are attributed to international tourists from other EU countries in Croatia (77.8%), Luxembourg (73.4%), Malta (61.2%), Austria (58.2%) and Greece (52.8%). Additionally, Ireland (65.9%) and Cyprus (59.2%) record notably high percentages of international tourists from outside the EU (see Table 5).

Table showing percentage nights spent in tourist accommodation in individual EU Member States, EFTA countries, North Macedonia, Serbia and Türkiye for the year 2023. Kosovo.
Table 5: Nights spent in tourist accommodation 2023 (%)
Source: Eurostat (tour_occ_ninat) (tour_occ_ninraw)


More than 29 million bed places in EU tourist accommodation

In 2023, the EU could offer 29.2 million bed places to accommodate tourists, spread over more than 636 000 establishments. In terms of bed places, Italy (with 5.2 million bed places) and France (with 5.1 million bed places) accounted for more than one-third of total available capacity (see Table 6).

Table showing capacity of tourist accommodation establishments by NACE group in the EU, individual EU Member States, EFTA countries, North Macedonia, Serbia and Türkiye for the year 2023.
Table 6: Capacity of tourist accommodation establishments by NACE group, 2023
Source: Eurostat (tour_cap_nat)

The comparability and completeness of this data is affected by the fact that countries apply data collection thresholds. In many countries, establishments having fewer than ten bed places are not covered by these statistics, but the threshold applied is not identical across the European Union. This means that the 29.2 million bed places mentioned above is a modest estimate; the actual number of bed places including those offered in the smallest establishments may be higher than the published estimate.

For countries where a breakdown by size class is available, 58% of hotels and similar accommodation establishments had fewer than 25 bedrooms, 35% had between 25 and 99, and 9% were large establishments with a capacity of 100 or more bedrooms (see Table 7).

table showing percentage hotels and similar accommodation establishments by size class in the EU, individual EU Member States and EFTA countries for the year 2023.
Table 7: Hotels and similar accommodation establishments by size class, 2023 (%)
Source: Eurostat (tour_cap_nats)

Average occupancy rate of bed places in hotels was 49% in 2023

Comparing the capacity data in terms of available beds or rooms with the occupancy data in terms of nights spent gives an indicator of the occupancy rates. At EU level, the net occupancy rate of bed places in hotels was 49% in 2023, down by 1 percentage points (pp) compared with 2019. The highest occupancy rates were recorded in Cyprus (73%), Malta (63%) and Spain (61%), while the lowest were in Czechia (37%), Latvia (36%), Romania (35%) and Slovakia (34%), as shown in Figure 8.

Vertical bar chart showing percentage net occupancy rates of bed places in hotels and similar accommodation in the EU, individual EU Member States, EFTA countries, North Macedonia, Serbia and Türkiye. Each country has two columns comparing the year 2019 with 2023.
Figure 8: Net occupancy rates of bed places in hotels and similar accommodation, 2019 and 2023 (%)
Source: Eurostat (tour_occ_anor)

Source data for tables and graphs

Data sources

For the short-term trends in the nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments in the European Union (EU), see the quarterly updated article Tourism statistics - nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments.

Context

The EU is a major tourist destination, with four Member States among the world's top ten destinations for holidaymakers, according to UNWTO[1] data. Tourism is an important activity in the EU which contributes to employment and economic growth, as well as to the development of rural, peripheral or less-developed areas. These characteristics drive the demand for reliable and harmonised statistics on this activity, as well as within the wider context of regional policy and sustainable development policy areas.

Notes

  1. ↑ UNWTO data

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Legislation
  • With 2012 as reference year:
  • Regulation (EU) No 692/2011 of 6 July 2011 concerning European statistics on tourism and repealing Council Directive 95/57/EC. (Summary)
  • Regulation (EU) No 1051/2011 of 20 October 2011 implementing Regulation (EU) No 692/2011 concerning European statistics on tourism, as regards the structure of the quality reports and the transmission of the data.
  • Previous legal acts (concerning reference periods before 2012):
  • Commission Decision 1999/35/CE of 9 December 1998 on the procedures for implementing Council Directive 95/57/EC on the collection of statistical information in the field of tourism.
  • Commission Decision 2004/883/CE of 10 December 2004 adjusting the Annex to Council Directive 95/57/EC on the collection of statistical information in the field of tourism as regards country lists.
  • Directive 95/57/EC of 23 November 1995 on the collection of statistical information in the field of tourism.
  • Directive 2006/110/EC of 20 November 2006 adapting Directives 95/57/EC and 2001/109/EC in the field of statistics, by reason of the accession of Bulgaria and Romania.

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