In 2019, Spain (469 million nights, +0.5% compared with 2018) retained its lead, ahead of France (446 mn, +0.8%), Germany (436 mn, +4.0%), Italy (433 mn, +0.9%) and the United Kingdom (375 mn, +5.7%).
These early estimates, which include nights spent whether for business or leisure, come from an article issued by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.
Highest growth in tourism nights in Slovakia and Lithuania
The number of nights spent in tourist accommodation in 2019 grew in nearly all Member States, with the largest increases being observed in Slovakia (+12.6%) and Lithuania (+10.0%), followed by the Netherlands (+6.8%), the United Kingdom (+5.7%) and Romania (+5.6%).
In contrast, the only decreases were registered in Greece (-3.0%) and Malta (-2.7%).
In the EU, the number of nights spent in tourist accommodation by residents grew at the same pace (+2.4%) between 2018 and 2019 as those spent by non-residents (+2.4%).
Almost every EU Member State recorded an increase in the number of tourism nights spent by residents, with the highest increases recorded in Slovakia (+15.1%), Cyprus (+13.0%), Croatia (+10.0%), Lithuania (+9.9%) and Malta (+9.2%).
Similarly, the number of tourism nights spent by non-residents rose in a majority of EU Member States, with the largest increases registered in the United Kingdom (+19.2%), the Netherlands (+10.6%), Lithuania (+10.0%) and Slovakia (+8.4%).
Within the EU Member States, the largest shares of nights spent by residents were recorded in Romania (83% of total nights spent), Germany and Poland (both 80%) as well as Sweden (75%). In contrast, the largest shares of nights spent by non-residents were registered in Malta (95% of total nights spent), Cyprus (94%), Croatia (92%) and Luxembourg (88%).