The EU tourism sector has more than made up for losses after the pandemic, according to Eurostat data. According to the EU statistical office, 2.3 percent more overnight stays were rented in 2023 than in the pre-pandemic year of 2019. Platforms providing short-term rental services recorded the most pronounced increase, by almost 30 percent.
The European Statistical Office reported that 2.9 billion nights were booked in EU countries in 2023. This means that tourists booked 2.3 percent more nights in the EU than in the pre-pandemic year of 2019.
Tourism has managed to recover
– We have heard how significantly the pandemic has affected tourism and the European economy in general. The data shows that at least tourism has managed to recover after COVID – said Christophe Demunter, an expert on the tourism sector, at a press conference. The rebound is most clearly visible in the short-term rental market provided by online platforms operating throughout the EU. Eurostat has established cooperation with the following services: Airbnb, Booking, Expedia and TripAdvisor. These companies share their data with the European office four times a year, which is then combined and forwarded to the member states. Simon Bley from Eurostat emphasized that for the first time in history, the office is forwarding data to the member states, and not the other way around. According to data provided by the platforms, 719 million overnight stays were booked through them in 2023, which means an increase of 20% compared to 2022. Last year's result is also almost 30% higher. that of 2019, when 512 million nights were purchased via four online services.
Strong concentration
Eurostat data shows that tourism in Europe is highly concentrated. Firstly, almost one fifth of all overnight stays in 2023 were booked in the seven most popular regions: the Canary Islands, the Croatian Adriatic coast, the areas around Barcelona and Paris, Andalusia, Veneto and the Balearic Islands. For comparison, the Canary Islands region is slightly more popular than the whole of Poland – last year, tourists spent a total of 96 million nights on the islands, and 93 million in Poland. Secondly, tourism in the EU is concentrated on the coasts. Almost half of overnight stays (48%) were booked in 2023 on the shores of the seas or oceans (counted as an area approx. 10 km from the water).
Poland below average
Foreigners account for an average of 62 percent of people who booked accommodation via the four platforms in EU countries in 2023. The vast majority of tourists on Malta (96 percent) and Croatia (95 percent) come from abroad.
In turn, Poland (42 percent) together with Germans (31%), France (39%), Finland (47%) Romania (49 percent) and Lithuania (51%) is below the EU average, which means that domestic tourists are of great importance to the tourism industry.
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