EU TOURISM: OVERNIGHT STAYS SURPASS PRE-PANDEMIC LEVELS

European statistics agency Eurostat reported that the number of overnight stays in tourist accommodation in the EU will reach 2.92 billion in 2023, exceeding the pre-pandemic level of 2.87 billion in 2019 by 1.6%.

Eurostat’s latest forecasts for the EU housing sector show that the sector will reach a record level by 2023. The tourism sector showed signs of recovery following the Covid-19 pandemic last year. In 2023, 171 million additional overnight stays were recorded, an increase of 6.3% compared to 2022. International visitors (+146 million) and domestic visitors (+25 million) were the main drivers of the increase in overnight stays. The agency also reported that the number of overnight stays in the tourism sector increased by 25 percent compared to ten years ago, reaching 2.33 billion overnight stays.

In 2023, there was an increase in the number of overnight stays in all EU countries except Luxembourg compared to the previous year. Luxembourg recorded a slight decrease of -0.1%. Malta and Cyprus had the highest growth rates of over 20 percent, while Slovakia, Latvia, Bulgaria, Austria, Czech Republic, Portugal, Romania and Greece had growth rates of over 10 percent. Germany and Spain recorded the largest absolute increase in the number of overnight stays, with 32.8 million and 32.3 million respectively.

The share of international tourists visiting Europe has fallen significantly in the last three years. However, in 2023, the share of international tourists increased to 46% of the record 2.87 billion overnight stays; This is approximately the same level as before the pandemic (47%).

In the EU, hotels and similar accommodation are the most popular segment, accounting for 63% of total nightly stays, with 1.8 billion bookings. Holiday and other short-term stays represented 24%, while campsites made up 13%.