Spain took first place among European countries in terms of the number of tourist overnight stays in 2025, confirming its status as one of the world's main tourist destinations. According to European statistics, tourists spent 329.7 million nights in hotels and other accommodation facilities in Spain last year.
Italy came in second place with 264.7 million overnight stays, Turkey third with 154.8 million. France followed with 150.8 million overnight stays and the United Kingdom with 149.8 million. 2024.
Greece — 130.9 million overnight stays, Austria — 97 million, Croatia — 85.6 million, Germany — 83.6 million, and the Netherlands — 64.3 million also entered the top ten. Thus, the European tourist market, as before, is formed not only by the largest EU countries, but also by medium-sized destinations with a strong resort and cultural specialization.
Spain remains the leader thanks to the combination of beach tourism, large urban destinations, developed hotel infrastructure and high demand from travelers from Europe and other regions. Despite protests against excessive tourism in certain regions of Spain and Italy, the tourist flow to these countries remains high.
France maintains a strong position not only thanks to Paris. In summer, tourists are attracted by the Cote d'Azur and Provence, and in winter - by alpine resorts. Austria and Croatia also show that countries with smaller populations can be among the leaders thanks to their specialization in mountain, cultural and maritime tourism.
Europe in general remains the most visited region in the world. According to the data presented in the material, travelers spent more than 1.5 billion nights in European accommodation facilities, while in 1950 this figure was only about 25 million.
For the travel market, this confirms the steady recovery and growth of the tourism industry after the pandemic. The World Travel and Tourism Council estimates that the travel and tourism sector could grow by 3.2% in 2026, and the industry will support 376 million jobs worldwide, or about one in nine jobs.
