According to the latest data published by Eurostat, travelling and accommodation are among the most affected economic sectors in Europe, with travel restrictions affecting all EU Member States.

By comparing the number of arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments between 2019 and 2020 for the period January-March, one can see the impact of Covid-19 in the EU. In March, when the pandemic started in Europe, there was a decline of 44% in comparison to February and 52% in comparison to March 2019.

With countries imposing travel restrictions, the number of arrivals decreased substantially, reaching the lowest point in April, with less than 20 million arrivals, 72% less than in 2019. Despite a recovery in May and, especially in June, due to the slowdown of the virus and deconfinement, the values continued to be significantly lower than the last year. In June, the number of arrivals was 55% lower than the same month of 2019.

The impact varies significantly across the EU Member States, with the Southern European countries such as Spain, Malta or Greece, highly dependent on summer season tourists, showing percentage changes in June around 90%. On the other hand, countries less dependent on tourists during the summer season such as Netherlands and Lithuania only show declines of around 50%. Belgium, which is highly dependent on arrivals linked to the EU institutions and conferences also shows a very strong decline.

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