STAT/11/30
28 February 2011
Tourism in the EU27
Progressive recovery of nights spent in hotels through 2010
Nights spent by non-residents up by 5%
In 2010, 1.6 billion nights were spent in hotels and similar establishments1 in the EU27, an increase of 2.8% compared with 2009, after two successive annual declines of 0.3% in 2008 and 3.7% in 2009. In the EU27, the number of hotel nights spent by residents in their own country rose by 1.1% and hotel nights spent by
non-residents grew by 5.1% in 2010.
After the decrease in the number of hotel nights spent in the EU27 which began in the middle of 2008, peaked in January-April 2009 and then slowed down during the rest of 2009, there were first signs of a developing recovery in 2010. The number of hotel nights increased at an annual rate of 1.7% in January-April 2010 (compared with the same period of the previous year), of 2.6% in May-August and of 5.1% in September-December.
These estimates, which include nights spent whether for business or leisure, come from a publication2 from Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.
Highest increase in number of hotel nights in the Baltic countries and Malta
Among the Member States, the highest numbers of nights spent in hotels in 2010 were recorded in Spain (268 million nights, +6.4% compared with 2009), Italy (245 mn, -0.8%), Germany (229 mn, +5.8%), France (196 mn,
+2.4%) and the United Kingdom (166 mn, -2.1%). These five countries accounted for more than 70% of the total number of hotel nights spent in the EU27.
The number of nights spent in hotels in 2010 increased in most Member States, except for Romania (-8.7%), Greece (-2.3%), the United Kingdom (-2.1%), Slovenia (-1.0%) and Italy (-0.8%). The largest increases were recorded in Estonia (+14.1%), Latvia (+11.6%), Lithuania (+11.1%) and Malta (+11.0%), and the smallest in Austria (+2.2%), France (+2.4%), Cyprus (+3.1%) and Hungary (+3.3%).
Number of hotel nights spent by non-residents highest in Spain and Italy
In 2010, non-residents accounted for 45% of the total number of nights spent in hotels in the EU27 compared with 55% for residents. Apart from the two Mediterranean islands, Malta (95%) and Cyprus (90%), the highest proportions of non-residents were registered in Estonia and Latvia (both 75%), Greece (74%), Austria (72%) and Bulgaria (70%). The lowest proportions of non-residents were recorded in Romania (18%), Germany (21%), Sweden (23%), Finland (27%) and Poland (30%).
In 2010, the number of nights spent in hotels by non-residents rose in all Member States, with the largest increases in Estonia (+16.9%), Denmark (+14.9%) and the Netherlands (+13.4%). The highest numbers of hotel nights spent by non-residents were registered in Spain (155 mn, +8.9% compared with 2009), Italy (109 mn, +2.4%), France (66 mn, +3.0%), the United Kingdom (59 mn, +0.1%) and Austria (59 mn, +1.5%).
The majority of Member States also recorded a growth in the number of hotel nights spent by residents in 2010, with the largest increases in Poland (+11.8%), Latvia (+11.7%), Lithuania (+10.5%) and Belgium (+10.4%). The highest numbers of nights spent by residents in hotels were observed in Germany (180 mn, +4.3% compared with 2009), Italy (135 mn, -3.2%), France (130 mn, +2.1%), Spain (113 mn, +3.1%) and the United Kingdom (107 mn, -3.4%).
Nights spent in hotels and similar establishments (in millions)
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
EU27 | 1 558.6 | 705.7 | 853.1 | 2.8 | 5.1 | 1.1 | 1.7 | 2.6 | 5.1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
BE | 17.0 | 10.9 | 6.2 | 6.9 | 5.0 | 10.4 | 4.5 | 7.7 | 8.8 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
BG | 14.9 | 10.4 | 4.5 | 6.6 | 10.9 | -3.6 | -8.4 | 9.7 | 8.2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
CZ | 26.4 | 16.9 | 9.5 | 4.3 | 5.7 | 2.1 | 1.1 | 5.3 | 9.3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
DK | 10.9 | 4.9 | 6.1 | 9.7 | 14.9 | 5.8 | 3.3 | 13.3 | 9.5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
DE | 228.8 | 48.6 | 180.1 | 5.8 | 11.9 | 4.3 | 3.6 | 5.6 | 8.1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
EE | 4.0 | 3.0 | 1.0 | 14.1 | 16.9 | 6.3 | 12.8 | 14.5 | 14.8 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
IE | : | : | : | : | : | : | : | : | : | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
EL | 62.7 | 46.3 | 16.4 | -2.3 | 0.8 | -10.8 | -5.6 | -1.8 | -2.1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
ES | 268.0 | 154.8 | 113.3 | 6.4 | 8.9 | 3.1 | 3.8 | 6.9 | 8.0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
FR | 196.4 | 66.0 | 130.4 | 2.4 | 3.0 | 2.1 | 1.6 | 2.8 | 2.8 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
IT | 244.7 | 109.4 | 135.3 | -0.8 | 2.4 | -3.2 | -2.1 | -0.3 | -0.6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
CY | 13.2 | 11.9 | 1.3 | 3.1 | 3.9 | -3.7 | -0.9 | 4.2 | 3.6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
LV | 2.4 | 1.8 | 0.7 | 11.6 | 11.5 | 11.7 | 0.5 | 14.2 | 21.6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
LT | 2.3 | 1.5 | 0.8 | 11.1 | 11.4 | 10.5 | 1.9 | 13.7 | 17.0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
LU | : | : | : | : | : | : | -1.5 | : | : | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
HU | 15.5 | 8.2 | 7.3 | 3.3 | 5.7 | 0.7 | 3.3 | 2.3 | 5.9 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
MT | 7.5 | 7.1 | 0.3 | 11.0 | 11.6 | -0.5 | 1.2 | 16.3 | 11.1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
NL | 34.2 | 16.4 | 17.8 | 8.7 | 13.4 | 4.6 | 5.5 | 9.5 | 11.8 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
AT | 81.8 | 58.7 | 23.1 | 2.2 | 1.5 | 3.9 | 0.5 | 3.0 | 4.0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
PL | 27.1 | 8.0 | 19.0 | 10.4 | 7.5 | 11.8 | 8.3 | 11.5 | 11.3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
PT | 38.3 | 24.3 | 14.0 | 4.8 | 3.8 | 6.7 | 5.4 | 3.8 | 6.0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
RO | 15.1 | 2.7 | 12.4 | -8.7 | 3.2 | -10.9 | -7.2 | -12.4 | 0.4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
SI | 5.8 | 3.7 | 2.1 | -1.0 | 1.3 | -4.9 | -3.1 | -0.7 | 0.8 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
SK | 6.6 | 3.1 | 3.6 | 4.8 | 5.1 | 4.6 | 1.7 | 7.2 | 4.8 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
FI | 15.7 | 4.3 | 11.4 | 3.9 | 2.1 | 4.6 | 2.1 | 3.3 | 7.6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
SE | 27.3 | 6.4 | 20.8 | 5.1 | 6.0 | 4.8 | 2.7 | 5.4 | 8.0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
UK | 166.2 | 59.2 | 107.0 | -2.1 | 0.1 | -3.4 | 1.2 | -5.3 | 0.3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
LI | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.0 | -5.8 | -5.7 | -9.3 | -5.3 | -6.3 | -5.6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
NO | 18.4 | 4.8 | 13.6 | 4.2 | 8.8 | 2.6 | 3.1 | 4.4 | 5.1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
CH | 36.3 | 20.5 | 15.7 | 1.9 | 1.9 | 1.9 | 0.9 | 3.2 | 1.1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
HR | 19.3 | 17.0 | 2.3 | 4.0 | 5.8 | -7.6 | -3.0 | 5.1 | 4.2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
: Data not available
* 2010 estimates based on 9, 10 or 11 month data as available
** Sep-Dec estimates based on available data
BE: Belgium, BG: Bulgaria, CZ: Czech Republic, DK: Denmark, DE: Germany, EE: Estonia, IE: Ireland, EL: Greece, ES: Spain, FR: France,
IT: Italy, CY: Cyprus, LV: Latvia, LT: Lithuania, LU: Luxembourg, HU: Hungary, MT: Malta, NL: Netherlands, AT: Austria, PL: Poland,
PT: Portugal, RO: Romania, SI: Slovenia, SK: Slovakia, FI: Finland, SE: Sweden, UK: United Kingdom, LI: Liechtenstein, NO: Norway, CH: Switzerland, HR: Croatia.
Hotels and similar establishments ("Hotels" in the text): Hotels, apartment hotels, motels, roadside inns, beach hotels and other similar establishments which provide hotel services including more than bed-making and cleaning of the room and sanitary facilities. Similar establishments are other similar types of accommodation which is let per room and has a limited number of hotel-type services, including bed making and cleaning of rooms and sanitary facilities, on a daily basis.
The number of nights includes nights spent by both residents and non-residents, whether for business or leisure.
Eurostat, Statistic in Focus, 6/2011 "Slow recovery of the tourist accommodation sector in 2010 - Tourism in Europe: first results for 2010". Available free of charge in PDF format on the Eurostat website.
Published by: Eurostat Press Office: Julia URHAUSEN Tel: +352-4301-33 444 | For further information: Krista DIMITRAKOPOULOU Tel: +352-4301-33 298 |
Eurostat news releases on the Internet: http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat
