Archive:European Neighbourhood Policy - South - tourism statistics

Data extracted in February 2022.

Planned article update: April 2023.

Highlights

In 2020, the highest number of bed places in reporting European Neighbourhood Policy-South countries was 271 thousand in Morocco.

Non-resident arrivals in hotels and similar accommodation establishments declined in Israel, Tunisia, Morocco and Palestine by over 80 % between 2019 and 2020 (incomplete data for Algeria and Egypt).

The highest decline in the number of trips abroad per inhabitants between 2019 and 2020 was recorded by Israel (-83.5 %), while the decline in Algeria, Jordan and Tunisia ranged between 73.7 % and 76.3 % (incomplete data for Lebanon and Egypt).

Arrivals of non-residents in hotels and similar establishments, 2010, 2019 and 2020

Country codes: IL = Israel; TN = Tunisia; MA = Morocco; PS = Palestine; DZ = Algeria; EG = Egypt
EU: 2019: break in series. 2020: not available.
Tunisia: 2010: provisional.
Morocco: 2010: provisional.
Palestine: Refers to visitors staying in hotels and using their facilities. West Bank only. This designation shall not be construed as recognition of a State of Palestine and is without prejudice to the individual positions of the Member States on this issue. Refers to visitors staying in hotels and using their facilities.
Egypt: 2019-2010: not available.
Source: Eurostat (online data codes: tour_occ_arnat, demo_pjan, enps_tour_occ_arnat and enps_demo_pjangr)

This article is part of an online publication and presents information relating to tourism in the European Union (EU) and eight of the ten countries that form the European Neighbourhood Policy-South (ENP-South) region — Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine ^[1] and Tunisia; no recent data are available for Libya or Syria. It highlights recent developments over the period 2010-2020, with information on capacity (the number of bed places) and international demand (the number of arrivals of non-residents at hotels and similar accommodation) for inbound tourism, as well as information on the number of outbound trips made by tourists.

Full article

Tourism infrastructure

The number of bed places available in hotels and similar accommodation establishments as presented in Table 1 provides a measure of a country’s capacity to attract tourists; note that official tourism statistics include business travellers as tourists alongside individuals travelling for pleasure or other reasons.

Table 1: Bed places in hotels and similar accommodation establishments, 2010-2020
(thousands)
Source: Eurostat (tour_cap_nat) and (enps_tour_cap_nat)

Among the ENP-South countries for which data are available, Egypt reported the highest number of bed places in hotels and similar accommodation establishments with 316 thousand in 2017 (more recent data not available), resulting in an average annual growth rate of 1.6 % since 2010. In 2020, Morocco recorded 271 thousand bed places in hotels and similar accommodation establishments, a 4.6 % annual average growth over the decade. Tunisia accounted for 231 thousand bed places in 2020. In Israel and Algeria there were 139 thousand and 128 thousand bed places, respectively, in 2020, corresponding to average annual growth rates of 2.1 % and 3.3 %, respectively, over the decade. The lowest levels of capacity were recorded for Jordan with 30 thousand (note the data refer to numbers of rooms) and Palestine, with 7 thousand in 2020. When comparing to 2010, Jordan reported an annual average growth of 2.2 %. Additionally, Tunisia and Palestine were the only countries to report an average annual decline from 2010 to 2020 (down 0.5 % and 4.5 %, respectively). Lebanon reported 126 thousand bed places in 2016 (more recent data not available), showing an average annual growth of 25.7 % from 2010. With its total of 27.8 million bed places in 2020, the EU grew annually by 1.0 % on average since 2010.

Figure 1 presents another measure for analysing the number of bed places in hotels and similar establishments, providing information in relation to the size of the national population. Out of the seven ENP-South countries illustrated (no data available for Lebanon), Tunisia reported the highest number of bed places per thousand inhabitants both in 2010 and 2020, note that the 2010 value also includes bed places in specialised establishments and campsites. However, Tunisia reported a decrease to 19.7 bed places per thousand inhabitants in 2020 from 22.9 in 2010. Israel’s number of bed places was rather constant over the period, with 15.2 bed places per thousand inhabitants in 2020 and 14.8 in 2010; these numbers also include bed places in temporarily closed hotels. Morocco displayed the highest increase in bed places over the period, reaching 7.5 bed places per thousand inhabitants in 2020, from 5.4 in 2010. Egypt’s data was not available neither for 2020 nor for 2019, but in 2010, it had 3.6 bed places per thousand inhabitants. An increase in bed places was also recorded in Algeria, where the country had 2.6 bed places per thousand inhabitants in 2010 and it grew to 2.9 in 2020. In Jordan the number of bed places per inhabitants decreased between 2010 and 2020, from 3.7 to 2.8; the 2010 figures for Jordan are based on the number of rooms. Palestine was another ENP-South country which showed a decline over the period in the number of bed places, from 2.6 bed places in 2010 to 1.3 bed places in 2020; data for Palestine refer to beds and rooms which are ready for use. No recent data was provided by Egypt; however, in 2010 it recorded 3.6 bed places per thousand inhabitants.

The EU recorded a higher capacity of bed places than any of the ENP-South countries, with 26.6 bed places in hotels and similar accommodation establishments per thousand inhabitants in 2020.

Figure 1: Bed places in hotels and similar accommodation establishments, 2010, 2019 and 2020
(number of bed places per thousand inhabitants)
Source: Eurostat (tour_cap_nat), (demo_pjan), (enps_tour_cap_nat) and (enps_demo_pjangr)

Non-resident arrivals

Figure 2 presents the number of arrivals of non-residents in hotels and similar accommodation establishments across the ENP-South countries and the EU, according to their respective population sizes and according to data availability. Recent data for Jordan and Lebanon is not available. The largest number of arrivals of non-residents in hotels and similar establishments in 2020 was recorded by Israel, with 89 non-residents per thousand inhabitants. Tunisia had the second largest number of arrivals among the ENP-South countries, 55 non-residents per thousand inhabitants, while Morocco recorded 30. Palestine recorded around half of that, with 18 non-residents arrivals per thousand inhabitants. Data for 2020 was not available in Algeria but in 2019, it had 18 non-residents arrivals. Data for 2020 in Egypt was not available.

It has to be noted that the year 2020 saw a global impact on tourism as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic. All the ENP-South countries, where recent data is available, recorded substantial declines in non-residents arrivals between 2019 and 2020. Arrivals of non-residents in hotels and similar establishments declined by 86.8 % in Palestine, 85.8 % in Tunisia, 82.0 % in Israel and 80.9 % in Morocco.

Among the ENP-South countries, the ratio of non-resident arrivals in hotels and similar establishments to population was systematically lower than in the EU, in 2010 and 2019 (no data for the EU in 2020) with the exception of Tunisia in 2010, where it was 476. A total of 709 arrivals of non-residents at hotels and similar accommodation establishments were recorded in the EU in 2019, while it was 474 in 2010.

Figure 2: Arrivals of non-residents in hotels and similar establishments, 2010, 2019 and 2020
(number per thousand inhabitants)
Source: Eurostat (tour_occ_arnat), (demo_pjan), (enps_tour_occ_arnat) and (enps_demo_pjangr)

Table 2 shows the development of the number of arrivals of non-residents staying in hotels and similar accommodation establishments during the period 2010-2020. Developments can be divided into the periods 2010-2019 and 2019-2020, because of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic which started in early 2020.

During the period 2010-2019, there was an increase in the number of arrivals of non-residents in all the ENP-South countries, where recent data is available, except for Tunisia, where the number was nearly 11 % lower in 2019 than it had been in 2010. Among the other ENP-South countries, the strongest increase by far (in percentage terms) was recorded for Algeria, where the number of arrivals more than doubled (141.3 %), from 317 thousand in 2010 to 766 thousand in 2019. Although less spectacular, the increase in the number of non-resident arrivals in Morocco was the second highest (37.5 %). In 2019, 5.6 million non-residents arrived in Morocco, compared to 4.1 million in 2010. In Israel, there was an increase of 37.2 % between 2010 and 2019 in the number of arrivals of non-residents, from 3.2 million to 4.4 million. In Palestine, the latest data in 2019 were 31.8 % (688 thousand arrivals) higher than in 2010 (522 thousand arrivals). In Tunisia, the number of non-resident arrivals was the highest in 2010 (5.0 million); it fluctuated between 2011 and 2015, with significant decreases in 2011 and 2015 and a small recovery in 2012. From 2016 to 2019, there were consistent increases; in 2019, the number of non-resident arrivals reached 4.5 million, but was still below the level of 2010. In 2020, it dropped to 0.6 million. Although a time series after 2014 is not available for Egypt, the information that is available highlights the impact of political turmoil in recent years: in 2010, the number of non-resident arrivals in Egypt was 12.9 million, but was less than half this level (6.3 million) by 2013, although in 2014 growth returned as the number of arrivals was up to 7.4 million. No data in available for Jordan and Lebanon over the studied period. In comparison, 316.4 million non-residents arrived and stayed in hotels and similar accommodation establishments in 2019 in the EU, while in 2010 this number was 208.8 million; hence a 51.5 % increase.

The number of arrivals of non-residents staying in hotels and similar establishments fell sharply in all ENP-South countries in 2020, the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, in comparison with 2019. In Palestine the decline was 86.5 % to 93 thousand; in Tunisia, 85.7 % to 642 thousand; in Israel, 81.7 % to 814 thousand and in Morocco, 80.7 % to 1.08 million.

Table 2: Arrivals of non-residents staying in hotels and similar accommodation establishments, 2010-2020
(thousands)
Source: Eurostat (tour_occ_arnat) and (enps_tour_occ_arnat)

Outbound tourism

This final section details the outward flow of tourists travelling abroad. Table 3 presents the number of trips made by tourists from ENP-South to destinations outside of their own country for the period 2010-2020. For the EU, the figures represent the number of trips made by EU tourists to destinations outside of their own Member State. Note that EU data for this particular indicator only refer to persons aged 15 and more. Once again, because of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic which started in early 2020, observed trends can be divided into the period from 2010 to 2019 and from 2019 to 2020.

Among the ENP-South countries for which data are available, the highest number of outbound trips taken by tourists was recorded for Egypt at 12.8 million in 2019, a reduction of 7.5 % from 2010 (13.9 million). Israel reported the second highest number of outbound trips both in 2019 (9.2 million) and in 2010 (4.3 million). The number of trips, therefore, more than doubled over that period. The highest growth was found in Algeria, where number of trips more than trebled, with 5.7 million trips of residents going abroad in 2019 and 1.8 million in 2010. In Lebanon, 3.8 million trips were taken by residents in 2019 and 3.5 million in 2010 (up 7.7 %). In Tunisia, the number of trips doubled between 2010 (1.4 million) and 2019 (2.8 million). Jordan is the only other country (with Egypt), for which data is available, to show a decline (by 47.3 %) in the number of trips taken by residents; from 2.9 million trips in 2010 to 1.5 in 2019. Morocco and Palestine did not have any available data on the departures of residents travelling abroad for holidays and business. In the EU, 89.0 million trips were taken in 2019, which is an increase of 23.6 % compared to 2012 (no data available for the period 2010-2011).

Table 3: Departures of residents going abroad for all holidays and business, 2010-2020
(thousands of trips)
Source: Eurostat (tour_dem_tttot) and (enps_tour_dem_tttot)

Between 2019 and 2020, the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of outbound tourist trips fell sharply in all ENP-South country for which data is available: by 83.2 % in Israel, by 76.3 % in Lebanon, by 75.8 % in Algeria, by 73.6 % in Jordan and by 73.4 % in Tunisia. In all ENP-South countries for which data is available, outbound tourism was considerably lower in 2020 than it was in 2010: -86.1 % in Jordan, -74.4 % in Lebanon, -63.8 % in Israel, -45.5 % in Tunisia and -21.1 % in Algeria.

Figure 3 illustrates departures of residents, according to the size of the different populations. Data were not available for Morocco and Palestine. In 2019, Israel had the most departures of residents going abroad for all holidays and business in relation to its population (1 024 trips per thousand inhabitants). In 2010, the number of trips taken was 565 per thousand inhabitants. Lebanon followed with 726 trips of residents per thousand inhabitants in 2019, however, no data was available in 2010. In Tunisia, the number of trips taken by residents grew by 86.3 %, from 129 trips per thousand inhabitants in 2010 to 240 trips per thousand inhabitants in 2019. In contrast, the trips per inhabitants declined in Jordan by two thirds (down 66.8 %) from 449 trips per thousand inhabitants in 2010 to 149 trips per thousand inhabitants in 2019. Algeria recorded the strongest overall growth with its number of outbound resident trips per inhabitants almost trebling (up 170.1 %) between 2010 and 2019. There were 133 trips abroad per thousand inhabitants in 2019, while in 2010 there were 49 trips per inhabitants. Finally, Egypt also reported a decline in outbound trips per inhabitants from 178 trips per thousand inhabitants in 2010 to 131 trips per thousand inhabitants in 2019. In comparison, the number of trips taken by EU residents was 199 per thousand inhabitants in 2019 (no data available neither for 2010 nor 2020).

The COVID-19 pandemic affected greatly the departures of residents going abroad for holidays and business between 2019 and 2020. Among the ENP-South countries, for which data is available, Israel experienced the strongest decline (by 83.5 %) to reach 169 trips per thousand inhabitants in 2020. Algeria followed with a 76.3 % decrease (32 trips per thousand inhabitants); Jordan (down 74.2 %) had 38 trips per thousand inhabitants and Tunisia experienced a 73.7 % decrease in 2020, with 63 trips per thousand inhabitants.

Figure 3: Departures of residents going abroad for all holidays and business, 2010, 2019 and 2020
(number of trips per thousand inhabitants)
Source: Eurostat (tour_dem_tttot), (demo_pjan), (enps_tour_dem_tttot) and (enps_demo_pjanr)

Source data for tables and graphs

European Neighbourhood Policy — South countries — tourism: tables and figures

Data sources

The data for ENP-South countries are supplied by and under the responsibility of the national statistical authorities of each country on a voluntary basis. The data that are presented in this article result from an annual data collection cycle that has been established by Eurostat. No recent data are available from either Libya or Syria. These statistics are available free-of-charge on Eurostat’s website, together with a range of different indicators covering most socio-economic areas. 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. It can be for any main purpose, including business, leisure or other personal reasons other than to be employed in the place visited. A tourist is a visitor that stays overnight (at least one night). Within the EU, a system of tourism statistics was established through Council Directive 95/57/EC of 23 November 1995 on the collection of statistical information in the field of tourism. This legal basis requires EU Member States to provide a regular set of comparable tourism statistics. The Directive was amended in 2004 and 2006, before being repealed in 2011 when the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union adopted Regulation (EU) No 692/2011 concerning European statistics on tourism. The 2011 Regulation on tourism statistics was amended in 2013, in 2019 and again in 2020; the current consolidated version of Regulation (EU) No 692/2011 incorporate all these amendments.

Tourism statistics in the EU consist of two main components: on the one hand, statistics relating to capacity and occupancy (supply-side tourism statistics); on the other, statistics relating to tourism demand. In most EU Member States, the former are collected via surveys filled in by accommodation establishments, while the latter are mainly collected via traveller surveys at border crossings or through household surveys. Statistics on tourism demand refer to tourist participation, in other words, trips of at least one overnight stay during the reference period.

Tables in this article use the following notation:

Value in italics	data value is forecasted, provisional or estimated and is therefore likely to change;
:	not available, confidential or unreliable value;
–	not applicable.

Context

Tourism has the potential to contribute towards employment and economic growth, as well as to development in rural, peripheral or less-developed areas. Infrastructure created for tourism purposes contributes to local development, while jobs that are created or maintained can help counteract industrial or rural decline. Sustainable tourism involves the preservation and enhancement of cultural and natural heritage, ranging from the arts to local gastronomy or the preservation of biodiversity.

The European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP), launched in 2004, supports and fosters stability, security and prosperity in the EU’s neighbourhood. The ENP was revised in 2015. The main principles of the revised policy are a tailored approach to partner countries; flexibility; joint ownership; greater involvement of EU member states and shared responsibility. The ENP aims to deepen engagement with civil society and social partners. It offers partner countries greater access to the EU's market and regulatory framework, standards and internal agencies and programmes.

The Joint Communication by the European External Action Service and the European Commission on Renewed Partnership with the Southern Neighbourhood, accompanied by an EU Economic and Investment Plan for our Southern Neighbours, of 9 February 2021 further strengthens cooperation with the ENP-South countries.

The main objective of Euro-Mediterranean cooperation in statistics is to enable the production and dissemination of reliable and comparable data, in line with European and international norms and standards.

Reliable and comparable data are essential for evidence-based decision-making. They are needed to monitor the implementation of the agreements between the EU and the ENP-South countries, the impact of policy interventions and the reaching of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The EU has been supporting statistical capacity building in the region for a number of years through bilateral and regional capacity-building. This takes the form of technical assistance to partner countries’ national statistical authorities through targeted assistance programmes and activities such as training courses, working groups and workshops, exchange of best practice and the transfer of statistical know-how. Additional information on the policy context of the ENP is provided here.

Notes

↑ This designation shall not be construed as recognition of a State of Palestine and is without prejudice to the individual positions of the Member States on this issue.