Tourism trends

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Data from September 2011, most recent data: Further Eurostat information, Main tables and Database.

This article provides information on recent statistics in relation to tourism in the European Union (EU). Tourism is important because of its economic and employment potential, as well as its social and environmental implications. Tourism statistics are not only used to monitor EU tourism policies but also its regional and sustainable development policy.

Table 1: Holiday trips of residents (aged 15 years or more), 2010 - Source: Eurostat (tour_dem_ttq)
Table 2: Tourism indicators, 2005-2010 - Source: Eurostat (tin00039), (tin00040), (tin00041), (tin00043), (tin00045), (tps00001) and (tps00010)
Figure 1: Number of nights spent in collective tourist accommodation, EU-27, 2000-2010 (1)
(1 000 million nights) - Source: Eurostat (tour_occ_ninat) and (tour_occ_nim)
Table 3: Top 10 Member States of origin for outbound holidays, 2010
(1 000 nights spent abroad by residents of the country) - Source: Eurostat (tour_dem_tnw) and (tour_dem_tnq)
Figure 2: Country of origin for outbound holidays, 2010
(average nights spent abroad per inhabitant) - Source: Eurostat (tour_dem_tnq) and (tps00001)
Figure 3: Tourism destinations - nights spent in collective tourist accommodation, 2010 (1)
(1 000 nights spent in the country by non-residents) - Source: Eurostat (tour_occ_ninat) and (tour_occ_nim)
Table 4: Top 10 tourism destinations - nights spent in collective tourist accommodation, 2010
(1 000 nights spent in the country by non-residents) - Source: Eurostat (tour_occ_ninat) and (tour_occ_nim)
Figure 4: Tourism intensity, 2010
(nights spent by residents and non-residents in collective tourist accommodation per inhabitant) - Source: Eurostat (tour_occ_ninat), (tour_occ_nim) and (tps00001)
Table 5: Tourism receipts and expenditure from travel, 2000-2010 - Source: Eurostat (bop_its_deth), (bop_its_det), (bop_q_c) and (nama_gdp_c)

The role played by tourism, for both businesses and citizens, has grown considerably in recent decades. According to estimates from the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Enterprise and Industry, tourism accounts for more than 5 % of the EU-27’s gross domestic product (GDP). The tourist accommodation sector employs 2.3 million people in the EU-27, and total employment within the whole of the EU-27’s tourism industry is estimated to be between 12 million and 14 million people (according to preliminary estimates from tourism satellite accounts).

Contents

Main statistical findings

Tourism volume – demand and supply

Residents from the EU (excluding Malta) made more than 1 000 million holiday trips in 2010. Short trips (of one to three nights) accounted for slightly more than half (55.5 %) of the trips made (see Table 1), while approximately three quarters (76.6 %) of the trips made were to domestic destinations, while 23.4 % were abroad.

In some Member States, over half of all holidays were spent abroad; this was the case for Luxembourg, Belgium, Slovenia and the Netherlands. However, less than 10 % of holiday trips by residents of Romania, Spain, Greece, Bulgaria and Portugal were abroad. These figures appear to be influenced by both the Member State’s size and its geographical location (smaller and more northerly countries tend to report a higher propensity for their residents to take holidays abroad).

It is estimated that some 51.5 % of the EU-27’s population took part in tourism in 2010, in other words made at least one trip of at least four overnight stays during the year. Again, large differences can be observed, as this participation rate ranged from 5.3 % in Bulgaria to 87.8 % in Cyprus (see Table 2).

From the supply perspective, it is estimated that nearly 204 000 hotels and similar establishments were active within the EU-27 in 2010; there were more than 256 000 other collective tourist accommodation establishments (such as campsites and holiday dwellings). Hotels and similar establishments provided more than 12.4 million bed places, of which nearly half (46.2 %) were in Italy (2.3 million bed places), Spain (1.8 million bed places) or Germany (1.7 million bed places). In 2010, resident and non-resident (foreign) tourists spent over 1 500 million nights in hotels and similar establishments in the EU-27.

Over the past decade, the number of tourism nights spent in collective tourist accommodation had generally shown an upward trend. However, a decline in travel after the 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States and the financial and economic crisis caused short-term shocks: the number of tourism nights spent in collective tourist accommodation in the EU-27 fell by 0.6 % in 2008 and by 2.8 % in 2009. In 2010, however, the number of nights spent in collective tourist accommodation increased by 0.9 %, reaching over 2 250 million nights (see Figure 1).

Top destinations

German residents spent 640.6 million nights in collective accommodation establishments outside of Germany in 2010, while residents of the United Kingdom spent 504.3 million nights abroad; residents of these two Member States accounted for almost half (49.4 %) of the total number of nights spent abroad by EU-27 residents. Extending the coverage, the ten Member States whose residents spent the most nights in tourist accommodation establishments abroad made up 87.4 % of the 2 315.3 million nights spent abroad in 2010 (see Table 3).

When taking into account a country’s size in terms of population, Luxembourg was the Member State whose residents spent the most nights abroad per inhabitant (an average of 21.2 nights), followed by Cyprus (14.7), Ireland (11.6, data for 2009) and the Netherlands (also 11.6). At the other end of the spectrum, Romanians, Bulgarians and Greeks (data for 2009) spent, on average, less than one holiday night abroad per inhabitant in 2010 (see Figure 2).

In 2010, Spain was the most common tourism destination in the EU for non-residents (people coming from abroad), with 213.3 million nights spent in collective accommodation, or 23.2 % of the EU-27 total. The top three most popular destinations among the Member States for non-residents were Spain, Italy (167.8 million nights) and France (85.2 million nights), which together represented 50.7 % of the nights spent by non-residents in the EU-27. The least common destinations were Lithuania, Latvia and Luxembourg (data for 2009); the effect of the size of these Member States should be considered when interpreting these values (see Figure 3 and Table 4).

The number of nights spent (by residents and non-residents) can be put into perspective by making a comparison with the size of the country in population terms, providing an indicator of tourism intensity. In 2010, using this measure, the Mediterranean island destinations of Malta and Cyprus, as well as the alpine and city trip destination of Austria were the most popular tourist destinations in the EU-27 (see Figure 4).

Financial aspects of international tourism

The economic importance of tourism can be measured by looking at the ratio of international tourism receipts relative to GDP. In 2010, this was highest in Malta (13.2 %) and Cyprus (9.5 %), confirming the importance of tourism to these island nations (see Table 5); an even higher ratio was observed in Croatia (13.9 %, data for 2009). In absolute terms, the highest international tourism receipts in 2010 were recorded in Spain (EUR 39 621 million) and France (EUR 34 939 million), followed by Italy, Germany and the United Kingdom.

Germany recorded the highest level of expenditure on international tourism, totalling EUR 58 596 million in 2010, followed by the United Kingdom (EUR 36 829 million) and France (EUR 29 686 million). When analysing this expenditure relative to the size of population, Luxembourg’s residents spent on average EUR 5 374 per inhabitant on travel abroad in 2010, far ahead of the second ranked country, Belgium (EUR 1 305 per inhabitant), which was followed by Ireland, Denmark and Cyprus. Not surprisingly, these five Member States were all relatively small and also among the highest ranked in terms of the share of long (in other words, four nights or more) outbound trips in the total number of holiday trips.

Data sources and availability

Tourism, in a statistical context, refers to the activity of visitors taking a trip to a destination outside their usual environment, for less than a year. It can be for any main purpose, including business, leisure or other personal reasons other than to be employed by a resident person, household or enterprise in the place visited. Tourism statistics are currently limited to at least an overnight stay; as of 2014, outbound same-day visits will be covered as well.

A system of tourism statistics was established in Council Directive 95/57/EC of 23 November 1995 on the collection of statistical information in the field of tourism. This legal basis requires Member States to provide a regular set of comparable tourism statistics. Amendments in 2004 and 2006 concerned the enlargement of the EU and recent changes in the world market for tourism. In July 2011 the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union adopted a new Regulation 692/2011 concerning European statistics on tourism and repealing Council Directive 95/57/EC; this will come into force for reference year 2012 onwards.

Tourism statistics in the EU consist of two main components: statistics relating to capacity and occupancy in collective tourist accommodation; statistics relating to tourism demand. In most Member States, the former are collected via surveys filled in by accommodation establishments, while the latter are mainly collected via traveller surveys at border crossings or through household surveys.

Statistics on the capacity of collective tourist accommodation include the number of establishments, the number of bedrooms and the number of bed places. These statistics are available by establishment type or by region, and are compiled annually.

Statistics on the occupancy of collective tourist accommodation refer to the number of arrivals (at accommodation establishments) and the number of nights spent by residents and non-residents, separated into establishment type or region; annual and monthly statistical series are available. In addition, statistics on the use of bed places (occupancy rates) are compiled. Statistics on tourism demand refer to tourist participation, in other words, the number of people who made at least one trip of at least four overnight stays during the reference period (quarter or year). There are statistics in relation to the number of tourism trips made (and the number of nights spent on those trips), separated by:

  • destination country;
  • departure month;
  • length of stay;
  • type of organisation for the trip;
  • transport mode;
  • accommodation type;
  • expenditure.

The data may also be analysed by socio-demographic explanatory variables, such as age and gender.

Data from other official sources may also be used to study tourism. These statistics include:

  • data on employment in the tourism accommodation sector from the Labour force survey (LFS), broken down by working time (full/part-time), working status, age, level of education, gender, permanency and seniority of work with the same employer (annual and quarterly data);
  • data on personal travel receipts and expenditure from the balance of payments;
  • transport statistics (for example, air passenger transport);
  • structural business statistics (SBS) may be used to provide additional information on tourism flows and on the economic performance of certain tourism-related sectors.

Context

The EU is a major tourist destination, with six Member States among the world’s top ten destinations for holidaymakers. Tourism is an important activity in the EU which has the potential to contribute towards employment and economic growth, as well as to development in rural, peripheral or less-developed areas. These characteristics drive the demand for reliable and harmonised statistics within this field, as well as within the wider context of regional policy and sustainable development policy areas.

Indeed, tourism can be a significant factor in the development of European regions. Infrastructure created for tourism purposes contributes to local development, while jobs that are created or maintained can help counteract industrial or rural decline. Sustainable tourism involves the preservation and enhancement of cultural and natural heritage, ranging from the arts to local gastronomy or the preservation of biodiversity.

In 2006, the European Commission adopted Communication (2006) 134 'A renewed EU tourism policy: towards a stronger partnership for European tourism’. The document addressed a range of challenges that will shape tourism in the coming years, including Europe’s ageing population, growing external competition, consumer demand for more specialised tourism, and the need to develop more sustainable and environmentally friendly tourism practices. It argued that more competitive tourism supply and sustainable destinations would help raise tourist satisfaction and secure Europe’s position as the world’s leading tourist destination. This was followed by Communication ((2007) 621 in October 2007, titled 'Agenda for a sustainable and competitive European tourism ’, which proposed actions in relation to the sustainable management of destinations, the integration of sustainability concerns by businesses, and the sustainability awareness of tourists.

Communication ((2010) 352 'Europe, the world’s No. 1 tourist destination – a new political framework for tourism in Europe’ was adopted in June 2010. This followed the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty, which acknowledged the importance of tourism – outlining a specific competence for the EU in this field and allowing for decisions to be taken by qualified majority. A specific Treaty article on tourism specifies that the EU ‘shall complement the action of the Member States in the tourism sector, in particular by promoting the competitiveness of Union undertakings in that sector’. With its Communication in 2010, the European Commission encouraged a coordinated approach for initiatives linked to tourism and defined a new framework for action to increase the competitiveness of tourism and its capacity for sustainable growth. It proposed a number of European or multinational initiatives – including a consolidation of the socio-economic knowledge base for tourism – aimed at achieving these objectives.

Further Eurostat information

Publications

Main tables

Database

Dedicated section

Methodology/Metadata

Other information

Source data for tables and figures (MS Excel)

External links

See also

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