The European Office for Statistics, Eurostat, has revealed that last year, the total number of guest nights booked via inline platforms in the European Union increased by approximately seven per cent compared to the pre-pandemic year of 2019.
According to the same source, the number of guest nights rose from 512 million in 2019 to 547 million in 2022. However, the growth was uneven compared from one region to another.
The data reveals a wide range of growth rates in EU regions (at the NUTS2 level) considered moderate touristic importance. These regions, with a minimum of one million guest nights in 2022, witnessed diverse growth patterns.
As a result, Prague experienced a significant decline, with a growth rate of -52 per cent, indicating a substantial decrease in guest nights compared to the pre-pandemic baseline.
However, Franche-Comté in France experienced an impressive surge, demonstrating a remarkable growth rate of +93 per cent.
Among the ten regions with the highest growth rates, nine of them were rural regions in France. In addition, other regions that experienced high growth rates were identified in Poland, Germany, and Sweden.
On the contrary, certain regions in Europe experienced significant declines in guest nights in 2022v compared to 2019. Along Prague, among the areas with the most severe losses were Berlin at -39 per cent, Budapest at -34 per cent, and Vienna at -25 per cent.
When considering the absolute values and popularity of regions in Europe, it is noteworthy that six out of the top 20 most popular regions were located in Spain and France. Additionally, five regions were in Italy, two in Portugal, and one region, ranked as the top destination, in Croatia.
Except for urban areas such as Paris and Madrid, the majority of these popular regions were coastal areas along the Mediterranean or Atlantic coasts.
As for this year, data show that during the first quarter of 2023, guest nights at the EU level have reached unprecedented heights, surpassing previous records for the same period in the last years.
In all three months, January and February exceeded the highest levels recorded in 2020, while March surpassed the peak from 2022.
Notably, a total of 83.9 million guest nights were recorded in short-term accommodations booked through one of the four platforms in 2023. This marks a significant increase compared to the first quarter of last year, during which 67.3 million guest nights were registered.
France emerged as the top destination among the EU countries, with 22.0 million guest nights. Spain followed closely with 18.2 million guest nights, while Italy recorded 9.7 million.
