Record 1.2bn nights spent in EU tourist accommodation in 1H2024

Eurostat, via its official website, reported (12-Sep-2024) 1.2 billion nights were spent in EU tourist accommodation in 1H2024, the highest figure ever observed for the first two quarters of a year. This marked an increase of 26.6 million nights year-on-year (+2.2%) and 50.8 million extra nights compared with 1H2019 (+4.3%). Nights spent by foreigners increased 5.3% to 586 million, while nights by domestic visitors slightly contracted by 0.5% to 646.7 million. Among all EU members for which data is available, there was a year-on-year increase in nights spent compared with 1H2023, excepting France (-1.1 %), Belgium (-0.4 %) and Sweden (-0.2%). While a significant number of countries saw a decrease in domestic nights spent, all EU countries noted an increase in nights spent by international visitors. The biggest contributors, in absolute terms, were Spain (+8.1 million, to reach 211.4 million nights spent), Germany (+4.7 million, reaching 195.7 million) and Italy (+3.3 million, reaching 179 million). For all three countries, the growth was predominantly driven by international tourism.