Data extracted 12 January 2026

Planned article update: 4 March 2026

Tourism statistics - nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments

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Data extracted 12 January 2026

Planned article update: 4 March 2026

Highlights

1.3 billion tourism nights spent in Q3 2025, a growth by 1.7% compared with the same quarter in 2024.

With 3.1 billion nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments in the EU, first estimates show that 2025 was a record year (+62 million nights, +2.0%).

All but 2 EU countries saw an increase in nights spent in 2025 compared with 2024, the highest growth rate was observed in Malta (+9.9%) and Poland (+7.0%).

The longer-term evolution shows tourism levels in 2025 that were 43% above those of 15 years ago (from 2.2 billion nights spent in 2010 to 3.1 billion in 2025), and 7% above the 2019 pre-pandemic level.

Line chart showing number of nights spent in tourist accommodation establishments in the EU. Three lines represent in billions, total nights spent, nights spent by domestic guests and nights spent by international guests. Data is shown with annual intervals for the period 2010 to 2025. For more details please use the link to the source dataset code below the image.
Number of nights spent in tourist accommodation establishments, EU, 2010-2025
Source: Eurostat (tour_occ_ninat), (tour_occ_nim)

This article focuses on the short-term evolutions in the nights spent in tourist accommodation in the European Union (EU). The data from the most recent reference period available are compared with those of the same period of the previous year.

The current article focuses on the data for Q3 2025, but also includes first estimates for the entire year.

1.3 billion tourism nights spent in Q3 2025

In Q3 2025, 1.27 billion nights were spent in EU tourist accommodation (see Table 1). This corresponds to 21.3 million more nights than those spent in Q3 2024. This increase by 1.7% in Q3 shows a slightly slower growth compared with the first half of the year (+2.3%).

21 EU countries reported a positive trend while 6 reported a decrease compared with Q3 2024. The highest increases were recorded in Luxembourg (+6.4%), Malta (+5.9%) and Poland (+5.9%) (see Figure 1). In absolute figures, the largest contributions to the increase of 21.3 million nights were observed in France (+6.0 million), Italy (+5.2 million) and Spain (+3.2 million).

Over the summer quarter, the number of nights spent in the EU was the highest in August (501.2 million) followed by July (460.3 million). August was also the top month in 20 out of 27 EU countries, while July recorded most overnight tourist in the other 7 countries (namely Belgium, the Nordic countries Denmark, Sweden and Finland, and the Baltic countries Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, also in EFTA countries Iceland and Norway, July was the top month).

Table showing, where available, nights spent in tourist accommodation establishments in the EU, individual EU countries, EFTA countries and some candidate countries. The number of nights are shown in separate columns for July to October and third quarter of the year. The last column shows the percentage change comparing with the same quarter in the previous year. For more details please use the link to the source dataset code below the image.
Table 1: Nights spent in tourist accommodation establishments, Q3 2025 + October 2025
Source: Eurostat (tour_occ_nim)


Vertical bar chart showing, where available, the percentage change of nights spent in tourist accommodation in the EU, individual EU countries, some EFTA countries and some candidate countries. Each country has one column, representing a comparison of the third quarter of 2025 with the third quarter of 2024. For more details please use the link to the source dataset code below the image.
Figure 1: Nights spent in tourist accommodation, Q3 2025 compared with Q3 2024
Source: Eurostat (tour_occ_nim)

International tourism main driver for growth in Q3 2025

Looking at the breakdown by origin of the guest, in Q3 2025, compared with Q3 2024, international tourism contributed more to the overall increase of nights spent (+18.7 million nights, +3.1%), than domestic tourism (+2.6 million nights, +0.4%) (see Table 2). Spreading the nights spent over the 92 days in Q3 2025, suggests that on any given night 13.81 million guest stayed at tourist accommodation in the EU (of which 6,94 million domestic guests and 6.87 million foreign guests).

In Q3 2025, international tourism registered high increases in Finland (+12.6%), Slovakia (+8.4%), and Luxembourg (+8.1%) (see Figure 2) (note that the high growth figure for Lithuania was not considered in the analysis as it’s affected by a break in series due to a change in the data collection methodology). Nearly half of the international nights spent in Q3 2025 (312.2 million out of 631.9 million) were observed in Spain (119.9 million), Italy (115.8 million) and Greece (76.6 million). An increase in international tourism was also observed in all but 2 other EU countries.

In absolute terms, domestic tourism remained the predominant contributor (638.4 million nights) to the 1.27 billion nights spent in tourist accommodation across the EU in Q3 2025. Between July and September, 143.0 million nights were spent in France by residents of that country, Germany recorded 121.9 million nights spent by residents, and Italy 101.0 million. In 15 out of 27 EU countries, the number of domestic tourism nights was lower in Q3 2025 than in the same period in 2024, but the positive growth figures observed in 4 of the 5 biggest domestic markets (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Poland) kept the EU growth figure also positive (+0.4%).

Table showing the number of nights spent in tourist accommodation establishments by the origin of the guest as domestic visitors or international visitors in the third quarter of 2025. Other columns in the table show the percentage change in guests by origin comparing third quarter with the same quarter in the previous year. The data is shown for the EU, individual EU countries, EFTA countries and some candidate countries. For more details please use the link to the source dataset code below the image.
Table 2 : Nights spent in tourist accommodation establishments, by origin of the guest, Q3 2025
Source: Eurostat (tour_occ_nim)


Vertical bar chart showing the percentage change of nights spent in tourist accommodation establishments by origin of guest in the EU, individual EU countries, some EFTA countries and some candidate countries. Each country has two columns, the first represents the number of domestic visitors in the third quarter of 2025 compared with the same quarter in the previous year. The second column represents the number of international visitors in the third quarter of 2025 compared with the same quarter in the previous year. For more details please use the link to the source dataset code below the image.
Figure 2: Nights spent in tourist accommodation establishments, by origin of the guest, Q3 2025 compared with Q3 2024
Source: Eurostat (tour_occ_nim)

In Q3 2025, 1 in 5 nights was spent at a campsite

In the accommodation sector, the segment of hotels and similar accommodation accounted for 691.5 million nights (+1.6% compared with Q3 2024), or 54.4% of the total nights spent at tourist accommodation establishment (see Table 3 and Figure 3). The segment of holiday and other-short stay accommodation saw an increase by 3.8% to 319.1 million nights, representing 25.1% of the sector. The remaining 20.4% of nights were spent at campsites, the only segment that showed a decrease compared with the same quarter 1 year earlier (-0.5%), down to 259.6 million nights. Campsites were the biggest accommodation segment during the third quarter in France (107.0 million nights, or 50.7% of all nights spent in tourist accommodation establishments), Luxembourg (50.1%) and Denmark (42.1%).

Table showing the number of nights spent in tourist accommodation establishments by type of accommodation in the third quarter of 2025. Other columns in the table show the percentage change in guests by type of accommodation comparing third quarter 2025 with the same quarter in the previous year. The data is shown for the EU, individual EU countries, EFTA countries and some candidate countries. For more details please use the link to the source dataset code below the image.
Table 3 : Nights spent in tourist accommodation establishments, by type of accommodation, Q3 2025
Source: Eurostat (tour_occ_nim)


Vertical bar chart showing percentage change of nights spent by type of accommodation in the EU and in the top 5 countries. The bar chart has three sections representing the types of accommodation. The first section is for hotels and similar accommodation. The second section for holiday and other short-stay accommodation. The third section for camping grounds, recreational vehicle parks and trailer parks. For more details please use the link to the source dataset code below the image.
Figure 3: Nights spent in tourist accommodation establishments, EU and top 5 countries, by type of accommodation, Q3 2025 compared with Q3 2024
Source: Eurostat (tour_occ_nim)

EU tourism nights increased by 2.1% in the first 10 months of 2025

In the first 10 months of 2025, 2.8 billion nights were spent in tourist accommodation in the EU (see Table 4). This marked an increase of 57.5 million nights compared with the same period in 2024 (+2.1%). The overall level of nights spent in the first 10 months of 2025 exceeded that of 2024, pushed by the segment of international visitors. In the first 10 months of the year, foreigners spent 1.4 billion nights in tourist accommodation establishments in EU countries (+41.8 million nights or +3.2% compared with January to October 2024), while nights spent by domestic visitors in the first 10 months of 2025 increased by 1.1% (+15.6 million nights).

Looking at the country data, 25 EU countries saw in 2025 an increase in nights spent compared with the first 10 months of 2024. Decreases by respectively -1.1% and -3.0% were observed in Romania and Ireland (see Figure 4).

Table showing the number of nights spent in tourist accommodation establishments by the origin of the guest as domestic guests or international visitors in the first ten months of 2025. Other columns in the table show the percentage change in guests by origin comparing first ten months of 2025 with the same period in the previous year. The data is shown for the EU, individual EU countries, EFTA countries and some candidate countries. For more details please use the link to the source dataset code below the image.
Table 4: Nights spent in tourist accommodation establishments, by origin of the guest, January to October 2025
Source: Eurostat (tour_occ_nim)


Vertical bar chart showing percentage change of nights spent in tourist accommodation in the EU, individual EU countries, some EFTA countries and some candidate countries. Each country has column, representing a comparison of the first ten months of 2025 with the first ten months of 2024. For more details please use the link to the source dataset code below the image.
Figure 4: Nights spent in tourist accommodation establishments, January to October 2025 compared with the same period in 2024
Source: Eurostat (tour_occ_nim)

First estimates for tourism in 2025: a record number of nights spent in the EU

Estimates for the entire year were obtained by extrapolating the evolution for the first 10 or 11 months of the year to the remaining month(s). A record number of 3.08 billion nights was spent at EU tourist accommodation establishments (see Figure 5 and Table 5). 61.5 million more nights were spent compared with the year 2024 (+2.0%), driven by an increase in nights spent by international guests (+46.1 million, reaching 1.5 billion nights) that – to a lesser extent – by a 15.4 million nights increase in domestic tourism (landing at 1.6 billion nights).

The 2025 figure at EU level exceeds the pre-pandemic level for 2019 by 7.2%, both the domestic (+70.6 million nights, +4.7%) and international segment (+137.5 million nights, +10.1%) are now significantly higher than in 2019. At country level, 5 countries still need to fully recover from the impact of the pandemic, ranging from minor gaps in Hungary and Romania (respectively -0.3% and -0.4% compared with 2019) to considerable gaps yet to bridge in Estonia (-4.0%), Latvia (-9.6%) and Slovakia (-9.9%). The longer-term evolution shows tourism levels in 2025 that were 43% above those of a 15 years ago, growing from 2.16 billion nights spent in 2010 to 3.08 billion in 2025. International tourism increased twice as much as domestic tourism (+63% or +577 million nights, compared with +28% or +345 million nights).

Line chart showing the evolution in absolute numbers of the nights spent in the EU. Three lines represent the total, the domestic flows, and the international flows respectively. Data is shown with annual intervals for the period 2004 to 2025. For more details please use the link to the source dataset code below the image.
Figure 5: Annual estimates - Number of nights spent in tourist accommodation establishments, EU, 2004-2025
Source: Eurostat (tour_occ_nim), (tour_occ_ninat)

Compared with 2024, in 2025 the number of nights spent in tourist accommodation rose in nearly all EU countries. The largest increase was recorded in Malta (+9.9%), Poland (+7.0%) and Latvia (+6.2%). Slight decreases were recorded in Ireland (-1.8%) and Romania (-1.4%).

In absolute numbers, the biggest increase in nights spent was observed in France (+13.7 million nights), Italy (+9.8 million nights) and Spain (+8.1 million nights). International tourists accounted for 48.6% of the 3.08 billion nights spent in 2025. Spain attracted the most foreign tourists (330 million nights, corresponding to 64.2% of all tourism nights spent in Spain in 2025), followed by Italy (264 million nights, 55.5%), France (150 million nights, 31.9%) and Greece (131 million nights, 83.8%). With 83.8%, Greece was not the most depending on foreign visitors: in Malta, 94.1% of all overnight stays were by foreign guests, followed by Cyprus (92.7%), Croatia (90.3%) and Luxembourg (88.1%). Poland (19.2% foreign nights) Germany (18.9%) and Romania (17.6%) attracted predominantly domestic tourists.

Hotels and similar accommodation was the dominant accommodation segment, with 1.9 billion nights spent (63% of the total), followed by holiday and other short-stay accommodation (24%). Campsites accounted for 13% of the total (but in the Q3 2025, more than 1 in 5 nights was spent at a campsite). It should be noted that a significant number of countries limit this data collection to those facilities having at least 10 bed places, an issue that can lead to under coverage of, in particular, the segment of holiday and other short-stay accommodation (as an alternative source, data on short-term rentals booked via online platforms is available from Eurostat's experimental statistics on platform tourism).

Vertical bar chart showing the percentage change of nights spent in tourist accommodation in the EU, individual EU countries, some EFTA countries and some candidate countries. Each country has one column, representing a comparison of 2025 with 2024. For more details please use the link to the source dataset code below the image.
Figure 6: Nights spent in tourist accommodation establishments, estimates for 2025 compared with 2024
Source: Eurostat (tour_occ_nim)


Table showing first estimates the annual number of nights spent in tourist accommodation establishments by the origin of the guest as domestic visitors or international visitors and by type of accommodation in 2025. Other columns in the table show the percentage change in nights spent comparing 2025 with the previous year. The data is shown for the EU, individual EU countries, EFTA countries and some candidate countries. For more details please use the link to the source dataset code below the image.
Table 5: Nights spent in tourist accommodation establishments, by origin of the guest and by type of accommodation, estimates for 2025
Source: Eurostat (tour_occ_nim)

Data on tourism nights is included in the interactive European Statistical Monitor, which contains monthly and quarterly indicators from a number of statistical areas. The dashboard is updated every month with the latest available data for each indicator.

Source data for tables and graphs

Data sources

This article presents the short-term trends in nights spent in tourist accommodation in the EU, analysing monthly data provided by EU countries.

For a more comprehensive the year-to-year evolution of the number of nights spent in tourist accommodation and a detailed analysis of 2024 annual data, see Tourism statistics - annual results for the accommodation sector.

Eurostat also publishes separate series on platform tourism, re-using privately held data obtained directly from three major international platforms. For the most recent results, see the article Short-stay accommodation offered via online collaborative economy platforms - monthly data.

Context

The EU is a major tourist destination, with 6 European countries among the world's top 10 destinations for holidaymakers, according to UN Tourism[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. Tourism is estimated to account for 4.5% to the EU's gross value added. 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.

Footnotes

  1. [1] ↑

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Database

Thematic section

Publications

Methodology

Legislation
Regulation (EU) No 692/2011 of 6 July 2011 concerning European statistics on tourism and repealing Council Directive 95/57/EC.
Summaries of EU legislation: Tourism statistics

External links
Retrieved from "https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Tourism_statistics_-_nights_spent_at_tourist_accommodation_establishments&oldid=697741"