EU Tourism in 2024: Record-Breaking Performance Across the Union

In 2024, the tourism industry in the European Union reached an all-time high: the total number of overnight stays in tourist accommodations exceeded 3 billion, up 2.2% from 2023, according to Eurostat. On average, 8.2 million tourists stayed in hotels and similar facilities every day—179,000 more than the previous year.

2024 Year-End Highlights

The highest number of tourist nights was recorded in:

Spain – 500 million (+15 million YoY)

Italy – 458 million (+11 million)

Germany – 441 million (+10 million)

France – 451 million (-3 million)

These four countries together accounted for 61.6% of all tourism nights in the EU.



Lowest figures were seen in Luxembourg (3.4M), Latvia (4.7M), and Estonia (6.6M).
Top growth countries in percentage:

Malta: +14.4%

Latvia: +7.4%

Poland: +5.2%

Out of all EU countries, 23 saw increases, while declines were registered only in Luxembourg (-2.7%), France (-0.6%), Belgium (-0.2%), and Sweden (-0.1%).

Summer months (July and August) remained peak season, accounting for 31.4% of all nights (942 million). This was nearly equal to the six off-season months combined (943 million). However, summer's dominance slightly decreased.

Strong Q4 Boost

In Q4 2024, overnight stays increased by 25.4 million (+5.1%) compared to Q4 2023, mostly due to international tourism, which grew by 7.2%, adding 16.3 million nights.



Top Q4 increases by absolute international stays:

Italy: +5.3 million

Spain: +2.6 million

Top percentage increases:

Latvia: +16.8%

Malta: +16.6%

Italy and Finland: +15.6%

In domestic tourism, top growth was seen in:

Germany: +2.8 million

Italy: +1.8 million

Poland: +1.6 million

Hotels Remain the Top Choice

Hotels and similar establishments accounted for:

73.8% of all Q4 stays

63.1% of all 2024 stays

Other types of accommodations:

Holiday homes: 23.8%

Campsites: 13.1% (Q4 share: 3.6%)





Despite a slight 0.1% drop in domestic tourism, international travel contributed a net increase of 65.4 million nights. Spain led with an increase of +18 million nights from foreign visitors, followed by Italy (+15.9 million). Domestic declines were most notable in France (-5.0M) and Italy (-4.7M).

Tourism’s Economic Impact

Tourism contributes approximately 4.5% of the EU’s gross value added. Continued recovery of international travel, along with investments in sustainable and regional tourism and digital platforms, offers strong momentum for further growth in 2025.