Tourism statistics at regional level

Data extracted in April 2024.

Planned article update: September 2025.

Highlights

In 2022, the German, French and Spanish capital regions of Berlin (16.2 million), Paris (15.6 million) and Madrid (13.4 million) recorded the highest numbers of nights spent in tourist accommodation by domestic tourists.

In 2022, the Spanish island region of Mallorca registered the highest number of nights spent in tourist accommodation by international tourists (44.4 million).

In 2022, the southern Spanish region of Málaga had the highest number of guest nights spent in short-stay accommodation offered via selected online booking platforms for both domestic (4.0 million) and international guests (10.3 million).

Source: Eurostat (tour_occ_nin2m)

Tourism has the potential to play a significant role in many regional economies and can be of particular importance in remote/peripheral regions, such as the European Union (EU’s) coastal, mountain or outermost regions. Infrastructure that is created for tourism purposes contributes to local and regional development, while jobs that are created or maintained can help counteract industrial or rural decline. By contrast, tourism can have negative consequences/externalities, as excess demand may put a strain on local infrastructure and be a nuisance to local communities. Furthermore, tourism can impact the environment locally through noise, pollution, waste and wastewater, habitat loss and globally through transport-related emissions.

The COVID-19 crisis led to virtually all EU countries implementing containment measures and restrictions on non-essential travel; some partially or completely closed their borders. As well as travel-related restrictions, many governments also imposed restrictions on the way that tourism-related businesses could operate. The tourism sector experienced the full impact of the economic shock associated with the pandemic. Initially, the recovery of the EU’s tourism sector from the effects of the pandemic was driven by domestic demand, so-called ‘staycations’, with international tourists more cautious to travel once the restrictions linked to the pandemic had been lifted.

In 2022, there were 2 754 million nights spent in EU tourist accommodation. This figure was broadly in line with pre-pandemic levels, as there had been 2 875 million nights spent in 2019.

The infographic above provides information on the EU regions with the highest numbers of nights spent in tourist accommodation during winter 2021/22 (December 2021 to February 2022). The list included popular

beach holiday destinations, such as Canarias and Andalucía in Spain
city holiday destinations, such as the French capital region of Ile-de-France
mountain holiday destinations, such as Rhône-Alpes in France and Tirol in Austria.

During summer (June to August) 2022, popular beach holiday destinations accounted for the highest numbers of nights spent in tourist accommodation. There were 51.1 million nights spent in the Croatian coastal region of Jadranska Hrvatska, while the Spanish regions of Cataluña and Illes Balears and the Italian region of Veneto each recorded 34.0 to 35.1 million nights.

Some EU regions are characterised by their tourism demand being relatively evenly split between domestic and international tourists: this pattern was apparent, for example, in the Spanish regions of Andalucía and Cataluña. There were other regions, such as Rhône-Alpes and Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur in France, where domestic tourists accounted for a majority of the nights spent in tourist accommodation. By contrast, in regions such as Tirol and Jadranska Hrvatska, the number of nights spent by international tourists was more than 10 times as high as that for domestic tourists.

Issues such as seasonality and tourism pressures are explored in more detail below.

Full article

Number of nights spent in tourist accommodation

More about the data: tourism statistics

Tourism, in a statistical context, refers to the activity of visitors taking a trip to a destination outside their usual environment, for less than a year. This definition is wider than the common everyday definition, insofar as it encompasses not only private leisure trips but also visits to family and friends, as well as business trips.

Tourism statistics are traditionally collected from suppliers of tourism services through surveys of tourist accommodation establishments or from administrative data. These establishments include all types of accommodation which provide, as a paid service, accommodation for tourists. They are defined according to the activity classification NACE and include

The data are generally presented for NUTS level 3 regions. Exceptions are Belgium and Türkiye where the data refer to level 2 regions.

In 2022, there were 2.75 billion nights spent in all forms of tourist accommodation across the EU. This figure reflects both the length of stay and the number of tourists and is considered a key indicator for examining tourism developments, even if it doesn’t cover stays at non-rented accommodation nor same-day visits (without an overnight stay).

Map 1 shows information for 2022 on the total number of nights spent in tourist accommodation (as denoted by the size of each circle). There were 7 NUTS level 3 regions where the number of nights spent was above 30.0 million

the Spanish island region of Mallorca (48.3 million)
the French capital region of Paris (41.9 million)
the Spanish coastal region of Barcelona (35.7 million)
the Italian coastal region of Venezia (35.4 million)
the Italian mountainous region of Bolzano-Bozen (34.4 million)
the Spanish island region of Tenerife (32.2 million)
the Italian capital region of Roma (32.0 million).

In 2022, domestic tourists accounted for a majority (56.0%) of the total nights spent in EU tourist accommodation. Domestic tourists visited a broad range of regions across the EU, as they accounted for a majority of the nights spent in 960 out of 1 095 NUTS level 3 regions. By contrast, international tourists tended to cluster in a small number of regions that are among the most frequented tourist destinations; this may lead to tourism pressures and have implications for sustainable development.

Map 1 also presents information on the origin of tourists, identifying 3 specific groups, namely those regions characterised by

a high proportion of nights spent by domestic tourists
a relatively equal share of nights spent between domestic and international tourists
a high proportion of nights spent by international tourists.

In 2022, domestic tourists accounted for at least 19 out of 20 nights spent in 69 NUTS level 3 regions across the EU; some of these high shares were recorded in regions characterised by relatively low overall tourist numbers. Looking in more detail, 26 of this group had at least 1.0 million nights spent in tourist accommodation. They were located in relatively large EU countries (where domestic demand is likely to be higher): 18 regions from Germany, 6 regions from Poland and 2 regions from Romania. Within this group of 26

the highest overall numbers of nights spent (by both domestic and international tourists) were observed in the northern, coastal regions of Ostholstein, Nordfriesland and Vorpommern-Rügen in northern Germany
the highest share of nights spent by domestic tourists, 99.1%, was recorded in Wittmund (another coastal region in the north of Germany) and in Włocławski (in central Poland).

A similar analysis to that conducted for domestic tourists reveals that there were only 7 NUTS level 3 regions where international tourists accounted for at least 19 out of 20 nights spent in 2022

the Austrian mountainous region of Außerfern
the Croatian coastal region of Istarska županija
5 Greek island regions – Irakleio, Rethymni, Zakynthos, Lasithi, and Kalymnos, Karpathos, Kasos, Kos and Rodos.

Each of these 7 regions where international tourists accounted for at least 19 out of 20 nights spent in tourist accommodation was characterised by a relatively high overall number of nights spent (by both domestic and international tourists). The lowest count was in Außerfern (3.1 million nights), while very high numbers of tourist nights were spent in Irakleio (13.9 million), Kalymnos, Karpathos, Kasos, Kos, Rodos (24.2 million) and Istarska županija (27.7 million).

Map 1: Nights spent in tourist accommodation by origin of tourists, 2022
(by NUTS 3 regions)
Source: Eurostat (tour_occ_nin3)

In 2022, Berlin had the highest count of nights spent in tourist accommodation by domestic tourists …

Figure 1 shows the most frequented tourist destinations in the EU: it is based on NUTS level 3 regions with the highest numbers of nights spent in tourist accommodation by domestic tourists (left-hand side of the figure) and by international tourists (right-hand side).

In 2022, there were 16.2 million nights spent by domestic tourists in the German capital region of Berlin. The other NUTS level 3 regions where the number of nights spent by domestic tourists was higher than 12.0 million included

the capital regions of Paris in France (15.6 million), Madrid in Spain (13.4 million) and Roma in Italy (12.1 million)
the southern French coastal regions of Hérault (12.8 million) and Var (12.6 million)
the Spanish coastal region of Alicante/Alacant (12.3 million).

… while the Spanish island region of Mallorca had the highest number of nights spent by international tourists

In 2022, the Spanish island region of Mallorca had, by far, the highest count of nights spent in tourist accommodation by international tourists, at 44.4 million. The other NUTS level 3 regions within the EU to report at least 25.0 million nights spent by international tourists included

the Spanish island region of Tenerife (27.5 million)
the Croatian coastal region of Istarska županija (26.6 million)
the French capital region of Paris (26.3 million)
the Italian coastal region of Venezia (26.1 million)
the Spanish coastal region of Barcelona (25.8 million).

Figure 1: Top tourist regions in the EU, 2022
(million nights spent in tourist accommodation, by NUTS 3 regions)
Source: Eurostat (tour_occ_nin3)

Figure 2 presents, for each EU country, the most frequented region by domestic and by international tourists (based on the share of the total number of nights spent in tourist accommodation in each country). These relative shares reflect, to some degree, the number of regions in each EU country, while Cyprus and Luxembourg are single regions at NUTS level 3 (and hence aren’t shown).

There were 8 EU countries (out of 25 for which data are presented) where the same region was the most frequented among both domestic and international tourists

in Germany, France, Malta, Finland and Sweden this was the capital region – Berlin, Paris, the island of Malta, Helsinki-Uusimaa and Stockholms län
in Belgium, Bulgaria and Portugal this was a region other than the capital – Prov. West-Vlaanderen, Burgas and Algarve.

In 11 of the 17 remaining EU countries, the capital region was the most frequented among international tourists; this was the case in Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania and Slovakia. In the other 6 EU countries, the most frequented regions for international tourists were

the coastal regions of Kalymnos, Karpathos, Kasos, Kos, Rodos in Greece, Mallorca in Spain, Istarska županija in Croatia and Venezia in Italy
the mountainous regions of Tiroler Unterland in Austria and Gorenjska in Slovenia (which includes the popular tourist attraction of Lake Bled).

Among the same 17 EU countries, the most frequented regions for domestic tourists were often less well-known internationally. Leaving aside the 4 landlocked countries – Czechia, Hungary, Austria and Slovakia – all but 2 of the most frequented regions for domestic tourists were coastal: Sydjylland in Denmark, Lääne-Eesti in Estonia, South-West in Ireland, Andros, Thira, Kea, Milos, Mykonos, Naxos, Paros, Syros, Tinos in Greece, Primorsko-goranska županija in Croatia, Roma in Italy, Pierīga in Latvia, Klaipėdos apskritis in Lithuania, Koszaliński in Poland, Constanţa in Romania and Obalno-kraška in Slovenia. The only exceptions were the Spanish capital region of Madrid and Veluwe in the centre of the Netherlands.

Figure 2: Regional concentration of nights spent in tourist accommodation in each EU country, 2022
(%, highest shares of nights spent, by NUTS 3 regions)
Source: Eurostat (tour_occ_nin3)

The number of nights spent in EU tourist accommodation increased 50.4% between 2021 and 2022

In 2022, the EU’s tourism sector recovered strongly from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, as the number of nights spent in tourist accommodation increased 50.4% compared with 2021. The regional distribution of this change was skewed, insofar as 416 out of 1 122 regions (37.1% of all NUTS level 3 regions for which data are available) had a rate of growth higher than the EU average.

Map 2 shows information for the annual rate of change in the number of nights spent in tourist accommodation for 2022. At the top end of the distribution, there were 60 NUTS level 3 regions where the number of nights spent at least doubled (as shown by the darkest shade of blue in the map). These regions were dispersed across the EU and included several popular holiday destinations on the coast and in cities. At the top end of the distribution, the highest growth rates were recorded in

the Midland region of Ireland, where the number of nights spent in tourist accommodation more than quadrupled
Wartburgkreis in Germany, Imathia in Greece and Roma in Italy, where the number of nights spent in tourist accommodation more than trebled.

Although the vast majority of regions across the EU saw their number of nights spent in tourist accommodation increase between 2021 and 2022, there were 13 exceptions where there was a fall in the number of nights spent (they are denoted by a yellow shade in Map 2). For a majority of this group (11 regions), the decrease in the number of nights spent was less than 10.0%. However, larger contractions were recorded in 2 Romanian regions: Tulcea (-18.2%) and Olt (-23.8%).

Map 2: Change in nights spent in tourist accommodation, 2022
(%, annual change compared with 2021, by NUTS 3 regions)
Source: Eurostat (tour_occ_nin3) and (tour_occ_ninat)

Seasonality

Seasonality can have a considerable impact on tourism: it is linked to a range of environmental factors such as climate or geographical location, as well as socioeconomic factors like public and school holidays or factories closing for annual leave. Tourist arrivals are generally more evenly spread than the number of nights spent across the calendar year, due to a higher concentration of longer stays in the summer months.

There were 446 million and 481 million nights spent in EU tourist accommodation during the months of July and August 2022. As such, they were the 2 busiest months for tourism in the EU, together accounting for 33.6% of all nights spent in tourist accommodation during 2022. As was the case for the whole year, domestic tourists accounted for a small majority of the total number of nights spent in EU tourist accommodation: 54.1% in July and 56.2% in August 2022.

Map 3 shows for each NUTS level 2 region the share of the 2 busiest months in the total number of nights spent in tourist accommodation during 2022. In approximately 90% of EU regions (216 out of the 242 for which data are available), July and August had the highest numbers of nights spent. The exceptions – where July and August weren’t the 2 busiest months – were principally observed among capital/predominantly urban regions, which may receive a relatively high number of tourists for professional reasons and/or may be popular destinations for short/weekend breaks. For example, October was among the 2 busiest months in 2022 for the Belgian, Spanish, French and Romanian capital regions. That said, some coastal destinations also had peaks in seasonality towards the end of the year that could be linked, at least in part, to their favourable climates. This was the case, for example, in the French outermost regions of Guadeloupe, Guyane and La Réunion where 1 or 2 months in the final quarter of the year were among the 2 busiest months.

There were 15 NUTS level 2 regions where the 2 busiest months of the year accounted for at least half of all the nights spent in tourist accommodation during 2022. All of this group with a high degree of seasonality were coastal regions; they are shown in the darkest shade of blue in Map 3. At the top end of the distribution, there were 5 regions where July and August were the 2 busiest months of the year, accounting for at least 60% of all nights spent during 2022

the Mediterranean coastal region of Calabria in Italy – where July and August accounted for 64.8% of the total number of nights spent in tourist accommodation during 2022
the Black Sea coastal regions of Sud-Est (64.5%) in Romania and Yugoiztochen (64.3%) and Severoiztochen (60.9%) in Bulgaria
the Adriatic coastal region of Jadranska Hrvatska in Croatia (60.2%) – which had the 2nd highest number of nights spent in tourist accommodation among NUTS level 2 regions of the EU.

The lowest levels of concentration in the 2 busiest months were generally observed either in capital or predominantly urban regions or in more rural, sparsely populated regions that had relatively low levels of tourism; in both situations, demand was more evenly spread across the year. In 2022, there were 25 NUTS level 2 regions where the 2 busiest months accounted for less than 22.5% of the total nights spent in tourist accommodation (as shown by the yellow shade in Map 3). Among with a few others, this group included

the capital regions of Belgium, Bulgaria, Czechia, Germany, Spain, France, Hungary, Poland and Romania
several German regions with relatively large cities – Bremen, Chemnitz, Darmstadt, Düsseldorf, Hamburg, Köln, Münster and Stuttgart
4 out of the 5 outermost regions of France (while the 5th region, Guadeloupe, had a share of 23.0%) and the Spanish outermost region of Canarias (20.0%).

The lowest levels of seasonality during 2022 were observed in

the French outermost region of Mayotte, where March and May accounted for 18.8% of all nights spent
the Polish capital region of Warszawski stołeczny, where June and August accounted for 19.0% of all nights spent
the Spanish capital region of Comunidad de Madrid, where June and October accounted for 19.2% of all nights spent
the French outermost region of La Réunion, where August and October accounted for 19.8% of all nights spent.

Map 3: Nights spent in tourist accommodation during the 2 busiest months of the year, 2022
(% of total number of nights spent during the year, by NUTS 2 regions)
Source: Eurostat (tour_occ_nin2m)

Tourism pressures

Since the advent of mass tourism in the 1950s and 1960s, EU regions have been affected by tourism in different ways: while some regions continue to receive very few visitors, others have seen their numbers of tourists grow considerably. Many regions across the EU – particularly coastal regions – receive a majority of their visitors each year during a single season (see the section above on seasonality for more information).

Sustainable tourism involves the preservation and enhancement of cultural and natural heritage, including the arts, gastronomy or biodiversity. The success of tourism is, in the long-term, closely linked to its sustainability, with the quality of destinations often influenced by their natural and cultural environment and/or integration into the local community.

Tourism intensity is defined here as the number of nights spent in tourist accommodation per 1 000 inhabitants. There were 6 166 nights spent in EU tourist accommodation per 1 000 inhabitants in 2022. The regional distribution of tourism intensity was heavily skewed, highlighting that mass tourism tends to be concentrated in relatively few regions and those outside of capital cities and other major urban areas often have a relatively small resident population. Indeed, the ratio of tourist nights spent per 1 000 inhabitants was higher than the EU average in fewer than 3 out of 10 NUTS level 3 regions (317 out of 1 132 for which data are available). The statistics presented are likely to underestimate the true extent of tourism pressures, given the numerator for the ratio doesn’t include same-day visitors or tourists staying in non-rented accommodation (such as 2nd homes, or stays with friends/relatives).

Map 4 shows where tourism pressures were concentrated in 2022. There were 29 NUTS level 3 regions where at least 50 000 nights were spent in tourist accommodation per 1 000 inhabitants (as shown by the darkest shade of blue).

At the upper end of the distribution, there were 6 NUTS level 3 regions where the number of nights spent in tourist accommodation rose to more than 100 000 per 1 000 inhabitants in 2022

the Adriatic coastal region of Istarska županija in Croatia had the highest ratio of tourism intensity, at 131 411 nights spent per 1 000 inhabitants
the Greek island regions of Zakynthos and of Kalymnos, Karpathos, Kasos, Kos, Rodos
the Spanish island regions of Fuerteventura and of Lanzarote (that are both part of Canarias)
the mountainous, western Austrian region of Tiroler Oberland.

Map 4: Nights spent in tourist accommodation relative to resident population, 2022
(per 1 000 inhabitants, by NUTS 3 regions)
Source: Eurostat (tour_occ_nin3)

In 2022, there were, on average, 652 nights spent per km² in EU tourist accommodation

An alternative indicator for analysing tourism pressures is provided by tourism density, defined here as the total number of nights spent per square kilometre (km²) in tourist accommodation. In 2022, there were, on average, 652 nights spent per km² in EU tourist accommodation.

Map 5 shows that this measure of tourism pressures was concentrated in urban regions (which generally consist of much smaller areas). In 2022, there were 46 NUTS level 3 regions where tourism density was above 10 000 nights spent per km² (they are shown in the darkest shade of blue). Paris had by far the highest concentration of tourists, at 399 089 nights spent per km². The density of tourists in the French capital region was more than 5 times as high as any other region of the EU, with Kentrikos Tomeas Athinon (which forms part of the Greek capital) recording the 2nd highest ratio (73 743 nights spent per km²).

Among the 44 other NUTS level 3 regions which recorded tourism density of at least 10 000 nights spent per km² in 2022 there were 11 additional capital regions, those of Denmark, Malta, Austria, Germany, Czechia, the Netherlands, Hungary, Belgium, Poland and Romania; they were joined by a 2nd region that constitutes part of the Greek capital. Among other regions, high ratios were also observed in several

predominantly urban regions, for example, München, Frankfurt am Main, Düsseldorf and Hamburg in Germany
suburban regions, such as Hauts-de-Seine, Seine-Saint-Denis and Val-de-Marne located around the French capital
popular island regions, such as Lanzarote, Eivissa y Formentera, Tenerife and Gran Canaria in Spain
popular coastal regions, such as Rimini or Venezia in Italy.

Map 5: Nights spent in tourist accommodation relative to area, 2022
(per km², by NUTS 3 regions)
Source: Eurostat (tour_occ_nin3)

Guest nights spent at short-stay accommodation offered via online collaborative economy platforms

Developments in information and communication technologies have had a major impact on the tourist accommodation market. The emergence of online platforms has made it easier for small-scale service providers to advertise/offer their rooms, apartments and holiday homes to potential guests, with a rapid expansion of this market.

More about the data: experimental statistics on short-stay accommodation offered via online platforms

The information presented so far in this chapter has been based on official tourism statistics, compiled according to Regulation (EU) No 692/2011. These statistics provide limited coverage of holiday and short-stay accommodation, as data for holiday homes, apartments and rooms in otherwise private buildings are often outside the scope of tourism registers and surveys. Official statistics on holiday and short-stay accommodation are generally underestimated, given that several EU countries limit the scope of observations to establishments with, for example, at least 10 bed places. In recent years, this coverage issue has been further compounded by the emergence of online platforms that provide relatively simple methods for private individuals and small enterprises to offer short-stay accommodation; this has led to a surge in the provision of this type of accommodation.

For this reason, Eurostat embarked on an experimental data collection exercise aimed at improving the completeness of tourism statistics. It is based on a previously unexplored channel, namely data on listings/bookings obtained directly from 4 major online platforms (Airbnb, Booking.com, Tripadvisor and Expedia Group). This exercise was restricted to the collection of information on holiday and short-stay accommodation (NACE Group 55.2), reflecting the principal type of accommodation for service providers within the collaborative economy.

In 2022, Málaga in southern Spain was the most frequented region in terms of nights spent in short-stay accommodation offered via selected online booking platforms

Figure 3 shows the NUTS level 3 regions that recorded the highest number of nights spent by domestic and by international guests at short-stay accommodation offered via online booking platforms. In 2022, the highest counts for both types of guests were recorded in the southern Spanish coastal region of Málaga

4.0 million guest nights spent by domestic tourists
10.3 million guest nights spent by international tourists.

In 2022, the 20 most frequented NUTS level 3 regions among domestic guests for short-stay accommodation offered via selected online booking platforms were concentrated in Spain and France. In Spain, many of the regions that were most frequented by domestic guests were characterised as developed, coastal regions on the southern and eastern coastlines – Málaga, Alicante/Alacant, Cádiz and Valencia/València – the only exception was the capital region of Madrid. By contrast, several of the regions most frequented by French tourists were relatively rural areas, generally characterised by their coastline and/or mountains. Some of the regions with the highest numbers of nights spent by domestic guests in France included

Haute-Savoie and Savoie in the Alps
Var, Bouches-du-Rhône, Hérault and Alpes-Maritime on the Mediterranean coast
Gironde, Charente-Maritime, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Morbihan, Vendée and Finistère on the Atlantic coast.

Trójmiejski on the northern coastline of Poland was the only region from outside of Spain and France to feature in the ranking of most frequented regions by domestic guests.

In 2022, there were 7 different countries that featured in the ranking of the 20 most frequented NUTS level 3 regions among international guests for short-stay accommodation offered via selected online booking platforms. The vast majority of regions in this list were among the most popular holiday destinations, including several (capital) cities. There were 13 regions where the number of nights spent by international guests was higher than 5.0 million

half of these were located in Spain – Málaga, Barcelona, Alicante/Alacant, Tenerife, Mallorca and Madrid
3 in Portugal – Área Metropolitana de Lisboa, Algarve and Área Metropolitana de Porto
2 on the Adriatic coastline of Croatia – Splitsko-dalmatinska županija and Istarska županija
1 each in Italy and France – the capital regions of Roma and Paris.

Comparing the 20 most frequented regions for domestic and for international guests – there were only 4 regions that featured in both rankings

the Spanish regions of Málaga, Alicante/Alacant and Madrid
the French region of Alpes-Maritimes.

Figure 3: Top tourist regions in the EU for short-stay accommodation offered via selected online booking platforms, 2022
(million guest nights, by NUTS 3 regions)
Source: Eurostat (tour_ce_oan3)

The final part of this section based on data from online booking platforms concerns a timelier dataset. At the time of writing (May 2024), information is already available for the opening 3 quarters (January to September) of 2023, therefore including the peak holiday months of July and August. There were 546.2 million guest nights spent in the EU at short-stay accommodation offered via selected online booking platforms during the opening 3 quarters of 2023. These latest figures confirm that the online bookings market in the EU had recovered from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and was further expanding, as the number of nights spent during the opening 3 quarters of 2023 was

28.9% higher than during the opening 3 quarters of 2019
11.8% higher than during the opening 3 quarters of 2022.

During the opening 3 quarters of 2023, the Croatian coastal region of Jadranska Hrvatska had the highest number of nights spent in short-stay accommodation offered via selected online booking platforms

The number of guest nights spent in short-stay accommodation offered via selected online booking platforms was heavily skewed across NUTS level 2 regions. At the top end of the distribution there were 11 regions with more than 10.0 million guest nights during the opening 3 quarters of 2023. At the other end of the distribution, more than half of the 242 regions for which data are available had fewer than 1.0 million guest nights. The NUTS level 2 regions with the highest numbers of guest nights spent during the opening 3 quarters of 2023 at short-stay accommodation offered via selected online booking platforms included

the Croatian coastal region of Jadranska Hrvatska (30.3 million nights)
the southern Spanish region of Andalucía (25.3 million)
the southern French region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur (20.5 million).

There were 8 additional NUTS level 2 regions where the number of guest nights spent at short-stay accommodation offered via selected online booking platforms stood above 10.0 million during the opening 3 quarters of 2023 (as shown by the largest circles in Map 6). They were located in 3 EU countries: Spain (Cataluña, Comunitat Valenciana and Canarias), France (the capital region of Ile-de-France and Rhône-Alpes) and Italy (Toscana, Lombardia and the capital region of Lazio). Together, these 11 regions with the highest numbers of nights spent accounted for 33.7% of the total number of guest nights spent at EU short-stay accommodation during the opening 3 quarters of 2023.

Map 6 also shows how the number of guest nights spent at short-stay accommodation offered via selected online booking platforms changed between the opening 3 quarters of 2022 and those of 2023. As noted above, the average growth rate for the whole of the EU was 11.8%. Growth was distributed quite evenly across NUTS level 2 regions, as 122 regions reported a rate of change that was equal to or higher than the EU average, while there were 120 that had lower than average rates. Within this latter group, there were 9 regions where the number of nights spent decreased between the opening 3 quarters of 2022 and those of 2023.

There were 28 NUTS level 2 regions where the number of guest nights spent at short-stay accommodation offered via selected online booking platforms grew by at least 24.0% between the opening 3 quarters of 2022 and 2023 (as shown by the dark blue circles in Map 6). This group contained several capital regions – those of Slovakia, Italy, France, Austria, Czechia, Denmark, Ireland, Sweden, Spain and Finland – suggesting that there was a marked upturn in the number of people visiting big cities for short breaks and/or in the number of business travellers (post-COVID). With the exception of Lombardia in Italy, the remaining regions that had such high growth rates were characterised by a relatively low level of supply for short-stay accommodation offered via selected online booking platforms.

The 9 NUTS level 2 regions that recorded a falling number of nights spent at short-stay accommodation offered via selected online booking platforms between the opening 3 quarters of 2022 and 2023 were predominantly located in western EU countries (as shown by the yellow circles in Map 6). This group was composed of 4 regions from Germany, 2 from France and a single region from the Netherlands, while there were also single regions from each of Romania and Spain. During the period under consideration, there was a fall in the number of nights spent at short-stay accommodation offered via selected online booking platforms in several relatively popular holiday destinations, including

the French island region of Corse (down 5.6%)
the German coastal region of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (down 4.3%)
the Spanish island region of Illes Balears (down 2.3%).

Map 6: Guest nights spent at short-stay accommodation via selected online booking platforms, 2023
(1st to 3rd quarters, by NUTS 2 regions)
Source: Eurostat (tour_ce_omn12)

Source data for figures and maps

Tourism at regional level

Data sources

Tourism statistics presented within this chapter may be split into 2 main types

official statistics about the occupancy of tourist accommodation establishments
experimental statistics on short-stay accommodation booked through 4 major online booking platforms (Airbnb, Booking.com, Tripadvisor and Expedia Group).

Official statistics about the occupancy of collective tourist accommodation

Regional tourism statistics are available from suppliers of tourism services and are collected through surveys of tourist accommodation establishments (establishments are also referred to as local kind-of-activity units). These surveys provide information that covers tourism capacity (counts of establishments, rooms and bed places) and occupancy (the number of arrivals and nights spent). The data may be presented by region, by degree of urbanisation, and for coastal/non-coastal areas.

Since 2012, the legal basis for the collection of tourism statistics has been Regulation (EU) No 692/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 July 2011 concerning European statistics on tourism and Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 1051/2011 of 20 October 2011. Among other changes, Commission delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/1681 of 1 August 2019 introduced a requirement to provide additional data on nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments, including

monthly data for NUTS level 2 regions
annual data for NUTS level 3 regions
annual data for selected cities (capital cities, cities with at least 200 000 inhabitants, and other selected cities with relevance for tourism).

Tourism statistics are presented according to the tourist’s country of residence (not the tourist’s citizenship). Domestic tourism covers the activities of residents who stay in their own country (but outside their usual environment) and this may be contrasted with the activities of international tourists (often referred to as inbound or non-resident tourists).

Experimental statistics on short-stay accommodation reserved through online booking platforms

Statistics on short-stay holiday rentals have traditionally been under-covered, given the relatively high number of small market participants – many of whom are private individuals – that are often excluded from business or tourism registers. Indeed, Regulation (EU) No 692/2011 allows tourism statistics to be collected using a threshold whereby EU countries can opt to limit the scope of their observations to establishments having at least 10 bed places (or 20 bed places for smaller tourism countries). In practice, this means that part of the short-stay holiday rentals market isn’t represented in official statistics.

Since 2021, and following an agreement with Airbnb, Booking.com, Tripadvisor and Expedia Group, Eurostat has published a set of experimental statistics for short-stay accommodation booked through these 4 online platforms. This new data source allows an information gap to be closed, since many holiday homes, apartments and rooms in otherwise private buildings were previously not covered by tourism statistics. However, at this stage it isn’t yet possible to integrate this new source into existing tourist accommodation statistics, due to the potential double-counting of online listings that are also covered by traditional statistics; methodological work in this area is ongoing.

The 4 online platforms agreed to share their data on the number of nights booked and the number of guests, allowing access to reliable information on holiday and other short-stay accommodation reserved through their platforms. These experimental statistics are published from reference year 2018 onwards and may be investigated at a regional and at a city level. It is important to stress that, while these statistics from online platforms cover a significant part of the market, they don’t cover the entire market and new online platforms may emerge. In the future, Eurostat will investigate the possibility of extending the scope of this experimental data collection exercise to other types of accommodation (for example, hotels).

Indicator definitions

Tourist accommodation establishments include all types of tourist accommodation providing, as a paid service, accommodation for tourists, regardless of whether or not the provision of tourist accommodation is the main or a secondary activity. These establishments are defined according to the activity classification NACE as units providing short-term or short-stay accommodation services

hotels and similar accommodation (NACE Group 55.1) – includes accommodation provided by hotels, resort hotels, suite/apartment hotels, motels
holiday and other short-stay accommodation (NACE Group 55.2) – includes holiday homes, visitor flats and bungalows, cottages and cabins without housekeeping services, youth hostels and mountain refuges
camping grounds, recreational vehicle parks and trailer parks (NACE Group 55.3) – includes the provision of accommodation in campgrounds, trailer parks, recreational camps, and fishing and hunting camps for short-stay visitors.

The number of nights spent (overnight stays) is based on a count of nights that guests/tourists actually spend (sleep or stay) in specific types of accommodation.

Within the context of experimental statistics on short-stay accommodation reserved through 4 selected online booking platforms, the number of guest nights spent at short-stay accommodation is compiled using the number of overnights stays (in other words, the number of nights that short-stay accommodation has been rented out) multiplied by the number of guests staying at the accommodation. The scope of these experimental statistics is narrower than that used for traditional tourism statistics, with information only collected for NACE Group 55.2.

Context

The EU is a key cultural tourism destination thanks to its heritage that includes, among other elements, museums, theatres, archaeological sites, historical cities, industrial sites as well as music and gastronomy. Tourism makes a significant contribution to the economy across the EU and can help to achieve the objectives of various EU, national, regional and local policies thanks to its cross-cutting economic and social dimensions. The EU’s competence in the area of tourism is to support and coordinate in relation to the actions of individual EU countries.

A European Commission communication Europe, the world’s No. 1 tourist destination – a new political framework for tourism in Europe (COM(2010) 352 final) was adopted in June 2010 and remains in force. It provides a framework for the development of tourism within the EU, with 4 areas for action

stimulate competitiveness
promote sustainable and responsible tourism
consolidate Europe’s image as a collection of sustainable, high-quality destinations
maximise the potential of policies / financial instruments for developing tourism in the EU.

The European Commission has encouraged the diversification of the EU’s tourism offer through initiatives on a range of topics including maritime/coastal tourism, sustainable tourism, cultural tourism, tourism for all, accessible tourism, low-season tourism or collaborative tourism. To enhance the visibility of the EU as a tourist destination and increase international tourist arrivals, the European Commission undertakes a wide range of communication and promotion activities. Furthermore, it provides grants to the European Travel Commission (ETC), a non-profit organisation responsible for promoting Europe as an international tourist destination through reports, handbooks and websites (such as Europe invites the curious).

The COVID-19 pandemic put considerable pressure on the EU’s tourism and travel-related activities. On 13 May 2020, the European Commission adopted a comprehensive package of initiatives, including a strategy for Tourism and transport in 2020 and beyond (COM(2020) 550 final). Regulation (EU) 2021/953 (the EU Digital COVID Certificate Regulation) entered into force on 1 July 2021, facilitating the free movement of people within the EU during the pandemic. The pandemic resulted in thousands of consumers being affected by flight and package travel cancellations. In response, the European Commission, assisted by the European Consumer Centre Network, developed information for cancelled accommodation, car rentals and events that had been booked as individual services and gave guidance about alternative dispute resolution bodies (which could be used to help consumers and traders find amicable solutions out-of-court).

On 10 March 2020, the European Commission adopted a European industrial strategy, which was updated in May 2021 to take account of circumstances following the COVID-19 pandemic. The strategy highlights how industrial ecosystems may lead green and digital transformations, boosting the EU’s global competitiveness. To do so, the European Commission proposed launching a number of ‘transition pathways’: tourism was selected as the 1st of these (given it was among those activities hardest hit by the pandemic), see the Transition pathway for tourism. On 1 December 2022, the Council adopted the European agenda for tourism 2030. It describes measures and outputs needed to accelerate green and digital transitions, while improving the resilience of tourism, with actions to be taken by EU countries, the European Commission and tourism stakeholders.