International tourists from the European Union and extra-EU countries accounted for 43 per cent of all nights spent in EU tourist accommodations last year, with Spain recording the most significant number of international tourism nights.
Such conclusions have been reached by the recent report of the European Office for Statistics.
Revealing that in 11 out of 27 EU countries, the largest number of tourists were internationals, Eurostat’s recent report also showed that in three EU countries, foreign tourists accounted for more than 90 per cent of tourism nights spent, or more specifically:
- Malta (92 per cent)
- Croatia (91 per cent)
- Cyprus (91 per cent)
In Luxembourg and Greece as well, the foreign market accounted for 86 per cent and 84 per cent more specifically of the tourism night spent. At the same time, in Austria, Slovenia, Portugal, and Spain, the figures stood between 60 and 70 per cent.
Spain received the most significant number of international tourism nights (270 million nights), followed by Italy (201 million nights), jointly accounting for a total of 40 per cent of all foreign tourism nights spent at accommodation establishments in the EU.
While a strong attractiveness for foreign tourists boosts a country’s economy and contributes to a better mutual understanding of the country’s people and culture, a high foreign dependency can also make a destination more vulnerable in case of an external shock, such as natural disasters or pandemics affecting international mobility.
According to Eurostat, EU domestic travellers accounted for a total of 57 per cent of all nights spent in EU tourist accommodations last year.
Based on a report from the UN World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), the EU received a total of 45.8 per cent of all international tourism arrivals in the world last year. In addition, the top ten destination countries worldwide included six EU countries (France, Spain, Italy, Germany, Greece, and Austria)
In spite of being highly affected by COVID-related restrictions, the tourism industry in EU countries is significantly recovering.
Previously, Eurostat revealed that the total number of overnight stays registered in tourism establishments last year reached a total of 2.72 billion, falling behind pre-pandemic levels by 5.6 per cent.
According to Eurostat, in 2019 before the pandemic, the number of tourist nights reached a total of 2.88 billion these figures decreased to 1.42 billion in 2020 and 1.83 billion in 2021, thus accounting for 91.1 per cent and 48.3 per cent decline compared to 2022 levels, respectively.
