(24 January 2017) – In 2016, the number of nights spent in tourist accommodation establishments in the European Union is expected to have reached more than 2.8 billion, up by 2.0% compared with 2015.
Since 2009, there has been a steady increase in the number of nights spent in tourist accommodation establishments in the EU, notably driven by the rise in the nights spent by non-residents of the Member State.
In 2016, Spain (454 million nights, +7.8% compared with 2015) accentuated its lead, ahead of France (395 mn, -4.6%) and Italy (395 mn, +0.5%), Germany (390 mn, +2.8%) and the United Kingdom (292 mn, -4.5%).
The number of nights spent in tourist accommodation establishments in 2016 grew in nearly all Member States, with the largest increases being observed in Bulgaria (+17.9%) and Slovakia (+16.0%), followed by Poland (+11.8%) and Cyprus (+10.9%).
In contrast, the only significant falls were registered in France (-4.6%, equivalent to 19 mn nights) and the United Kingdom (-4.5%, or nearly 14 mn nights).