EU residents took holidays in other EU countries for almost a week long in 2024, with Greece and Romania recording the longest stays by visitors, according to the latest Eurostat data.<\/p>\n
Both countries surpassed the EU mean with around nine nights on average. <\/p>\n
By contrast, Estonia and Belgium were the destinations where tourists spent the shortest stays, with 3.1 and 3.6 nights, respectively.<\/p>\n
These differences in trip duration across the European Union are often linked to transportation accessibility and proximity to other countries. <\/p>\n
For instance, the price and distance to reach Greece, Spain, or Cyprus, along with their popularity as holiday destinations, motivate tourists to stay longer. <\/p>\n
On the other hand, Belgium’s proximity and accessibility to the Netherlands and France make short visits of a few days more likely. <\/p>\n
Visitors spent on average \u20ac851 per trip, ranging from \u20ac344 in Slovakia to \u20ac1,476 in Cyprus. <\/p>\n
Around one in four trips in the EU took place during August (12.8%) and July (11.7%).<\/p>\n
What is EU tourists’ favourite type of accommodation?<\/p>\n
More than two-thirds of nights in the EU are spent in rented tourist accommodation. <\/p>\n
Hotels or similar accommodation came out on top with 39%, while 25% of all intra-EU tourism nights were spent at a house, villa, or flat, and only 7% in campsites. <\/p>\n
Despite short-term rentals being among the most used by EU tourists, the European Commission promised an upcoming piece of legislation<\/strong><\/a> on short-term rentals to tackle the housing crisis.<\/p>\n The EU has identified short-term rental platforms such as Airbnb, TripAdvisor, and Expedia as a major driver of Europe’s affordable housing shortage, but has not specified how far it intends to regulate them.<\/p>\n