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Tourism in the EU 27 in 2009
Total nights spent in hotels decreased by 5% in 2009
In 2009, nearly 1.5 billion nights were spent in hotels and similar establishments in the EU 27, a decrease of 5.1% compared with 2008, after an annual change of -0.2% in 2008 and +3.5% in 2007. The number of hotel nights spent by residents in their own country in 2009 fell by 1.6% and hotel nights spent by non-residents fell by 9.1%.
These estimates, which include nights spent whether for business or leisure, come from a publication2 from Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.
Amongst the Member States, the highest numbers of nights spent in hotels in 2009 were recorded in Spain (251 million nights, -6.5% compared with 2008), Italy (238 mn, -4.3%), Germany (216 mn, -1.4%), France (191 mn, -5.6%) and the United Kingdom (170 mn, -1.7%). These five countries accounted for more than 70% of the total number of hotel nights in the EU27.
In 2009, non-residents accounted for 44% of the total number of nights spent in hotels in the EU27 compared with 56% for residents.
The highest numbers of hotel nights spent by non-residents were registered in Spain (142 mn, -8.9% compared with 2008), Italy (102 mn, -7.5%), France (64 mn, -11.1%), the United Kingdom (59 mn, -7.8%) and Austria (58 mn, -4.6%),
Tourism in Europe: First results summary for 2009
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Number of nights spent in hotels and similar establishments in the EU in 2009 decreased by 5.1%.
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Europeans booked shorter trips and tend to spend holidays in their own country.
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In all countries except Sweden, a decline in the number of nights spent in hotels and similar establishments was observed.
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In 2009, hotel nights by non-residents in the EU decreased by 9.1%
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In 2009, the total number of nights spent in hotels and similar establishments was lower than in 2006. The total number of overnight stays of non-EU residents’ nights dropped below the 2005 level.
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Tourist spending grew more slowly than the number of trips, which led to a decline in spending per trip by 1.8%.
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For short trips a growth of 3.8% was observed for travel within the country, while the number of long journeys to destinations outside the country of residence decreased by 2.1%.