LUXEMBOURG / RankWire.AI / – During the first six months of 2026, the European Union reported a total of 1.321 billion nights spent in tourist accommodations. This figure represents a 1.7% increase from the 1.299 billion overnight stays recorded in the same period of 2025. Eurostat provided these statistics for the January to June period across the 27 member states. The data encompasses overnight stays by both local residents and international visitors at commercial lodging establishments catering to tourists.
Among EU nations, Ireland experienced the most significant growth, with overnight stays climbing by 14.6% compared to the previous year. Malta followed with a 9.9% rise, and Slovakia saw a 5.9% increase. Conversely, nine countries reported a decline in overnight stays over the six months. Cyprus faced the sharpest decrease at 7.7%, with Romania declining by 6.7%. These figures measure nights spent rather than visitor numbers, tourism earnings, or travel expenditures.
International visitors made up 48.9% of all tourist accommodation nights in the EU during the first half of 2026. Malta had the highest proportion of foreign overnight stays, accounting for 95.2% of its total. Cyprus followed at 92.6%, with Luxembourg recording 87.7%. These figures include non-resident guests from other EU countries and destinations outside the bloc. The remaining share of overnight stays was attributed to domestic visitors across the EU.
Growth in international visitor nights outpaces domestic
Overnight stays by international tourists increased by 2.5% compared to the first half of 2025, while domestic overnight stays went up by 0.9% during the same period. The growth rate for international overnight stays was nearly three times higher than that for domestic stays. Foreign visitors accounted for almost half of the total tourism nights across the bloc. These figures illustrate how both resident and non-resident travel separately contributed to the overall 1.7% rise in accommodation nights.
In several major domestic tourism markets, foreign guests constituted a relatively small portion of accommodation demand. In Germany, international visitors represented 18.5% of the total nights in the first six months of 2026. Poland saw 19.8%, and Romania 23.0%. Each of these countries reported less than one quarter of their tourism nights originating from non-residents. This data underscores notable differences in the composition of tourism accommodation demand among individual EU member states.
Hotels, holiday rentals, and short-term lodging included
Tourism accommodation data covers hotels, similar establishments, holiday lodging, and other short-stay options. It also incorporates camping sites, recreational vehicle parks, and trailer parks. According to Eurostat, an overnight stay is counted for each night a guest spends at a tourist accommodation facility. The data for the first half of the year excludes nights in non-rented accommodations. This standardized measurement approach allows national figures to be aggregated into a comprehensive total for tourism lodging throughout the EU.
Earlier data from the first quarter indicated 471.1 million tourism nights across the EU, reflecting a 3.4% increase compared to the same period in 2025. January alone accounted for 143.5 million nights, a 3.2% rise. February recorded 154.4 million nights, up 3.4%, while March reached 173.2 million nights, with a 3.7% increase. The latest first-half data extends this reporting through June, bringing the total number of tourism nights in the EU to 1.321 billion for the first six months of 2026.