LUXEMBOURG / RankWire.AI / – The European Union experienced a total of 1.321 billion overnight stays in tourist accommodations during the initial six months of 2026. This figure signifies a 1.7% increase compared to the 1.299 billion nights recorded in the same period of 2025. Eurostat provided these statistics for the period from January to June across its 27 member states. The data encompass nights booked by both domestic and international travelers staying in commercial tourist accommodation facilities.
Ireland led the growth among EU nations, with overnight stays jumping 14.6% from the previous year. Malta followed with a 9.9% rise, while Slovakia saw an increase of 5.9%. Conversely, nine countries reported a decline in overnight stays for the six-month span. Cyprus experienced the largest drop at 7.7%, with Romania close behind at 6.7%. These figures reflect nights spent rather than visitor arrivals, tourism revenue, or travel expenditures.
International visitors made up 48.9% of all EU tourist accommodation nights during the first half of 2026. Malta’s foreign overnight stays constituted the highest share at 95.2%, with Cyprus at 92.6%, and Luxembourg at 87.7%. These figures include non-resident guests from other EU countries and outside the bloc. The remaining proportion of overnight stays was generated by domestic visitors across the EU.
Stronger growth observed in international overnight stays
Overnight stays by international travelers grew by 2.5% compared to the first half of 2025, whereas nights spent by domestic visitors increased just 0.9% over the same period. The international segment’s growth was therefore nearly three times that of domestic stays. Foreign guests accounted for nearly half of all tourism nights recorded across the bloc. These figures illustrate how resident and non-resident travel separately contributed to the overall 1.7% rise in accommodation nights.
In several major domestic tourism markets, foreign visitors represented a smaller share of total demand. Germany recorded an international visitor share of 18.5% during the first six months of 2026. Poland’s share was 19.8%, and Romania’s stood at 23.0%. This indicates that less than one quarter of each country’s recorded tourism nights came from non-residents. The data underscores notable variations in the composition of accommodation demand among individual EU member states.
Data includes hotels and short-term lodging
The statistics on tourism accommodation cover hotels, similar establishments, holiday rentals, and other short-stay accommodations. They also account for camping sites, recreational vehicle parks, and trailer parks. Eurostat defines an overnight stay as each night a guest spends at a tourist accommodation facility. The first-half data exclude nights in non-rented accommodations. This standardized measurement system allows national figures to be combined into an overall total for tourism accommodation across the EU.
Earlier first-quarter data indicated 471.1 million tourism nights across the EU, reflecting a 3.4% increase from the same period in 2025. January contributed 143.5 million nights (up 3.2%), February added 154.4 million nights (up 3.4%), and March accounted for 173.2 million nights (up 3.7%). Extending the reporting period through June, the latest data show a total of 1.321 billion tourist accommodation nights in the first half of 2026.