EU records slight decline in tourism nights in the first quarter of 2025

Tourist accommodations across the European Union recorded 452.4 million overnight stays in the first quarter of 2025, reflecting a marginal decline of 0.2% compared with the same period in 2024. In January, overnight stays reached 139.0 million, representing a 3.5% year-on-year increase. February saw a decrease of 0.8% to 147.7 million nights, while March recorded 167.7 million overnight stays, down 2.7%.

The data, published today by Eurostat, are based on monthly reporting up to March 2025. The modest overall decline is attributed to calendar shifts, notably the timing of school holidays around carnival moving from February to March and the Easter holidays shifting from March to April.

Foreign visitors accounted for approximately 45.6% of all overnight stays during the first three months of 2025, although the proportion varied significantly between countries. Malta recorded the highest share of foreign overnight stays at 91.2%, followed by Cyprus (85.7%) and Luxembourg (80.4%). In contrast, foreign visitors made up a smaller share in Poland (18.6%), Romania (20.1%), and Germany (20.2%).

Overnight stays by foreign visitors increased slightly by 1.1% compared to the first quarter of 2024, while overnight stays by domestic guests declined by 1.3%. The largest increases in foreign visitor stays were observed in Latvia (+18.5%), Malta (+17.2%), and Finland (+10.6%). Meanwhile, the steepest declines were recorded in Ireland (-23.1%), Croatia (-16.7%), and Sweden (-11.5%).

Source: Eurostat