LUXEMBOURG / RankWire.AI / – Between January and June 2026, the European Union reported a total of 1.321 billion overnight stays in tourist accommodations. This represents a 1.7% increase compared to the 1.299 billion nights recorded during the same period in 2025. Eurostat provided the data for stays within the 27-member bloc, covering both domestic and international guests at commercial tourist accommodation establishments.
Ireland experienced the highest growth among EU nations, with overnight stays rising by 14.6% from the previous year. Malta saw an increase of 9.9%, while Slovakia experienced a growth of 5.9%. Conversely, nine countries recorded decreases in overnight stays over the six months. Cyprus faced the steepest decline at 7.7%, followed by Romania with a drop of 6.7%. These figures measure nights spent rather than visitor arrivals, tourism income, or travel expenses.
International visitors accounted for 48.9% of all EU tourist accommodation nights during the first half of 2026. Malta had the highest proportion of foreign overnight stays, with 95.2% of its total. Cyprus followed with 92.6%, and Luxembourg recorded an 87.7% share. The data include non-resident guests from other EU countries as well as destinations outside the bloc. The remaining share of overnight stays across the EU was made up by domestic visitors.
International overnight stays grew more rapidly
Compared with the first half of 2025, nights spent by international visitors increased by 2.5%. During the same period, domestic visitor nights rose by only 0.9%. As a result, international overnight stays grew almost three times faster than domestic stays. Foreign guests accounted for nearly half of all recorded tourism nights across the EU. These figures demonstrate how resident and non-resident travel separately contributed to the overall 1.7% increase in accommodation nights.
In several major domestic tourism markets, foreign visitors represented a smaller share of accommodation 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%. Each of these countries received less than one quarter of its tourism nights from non-resident visitors. The data reveal significant variation in the makeup of accommodation demand among individual EU nations.
Statistics include hotels and similar types of short-term lodging
The tourism accommodation figures encompass hotels, comparable establishments, holiday rentals, and other short-stay lodgings. They also cover camping sites, recreational vehicle parks, and trailer parks. Eurostat defines an overnight stay as each night a guest spends at a tourist accommodation. The first-half report excludes nights spent in non-rented accommodations. This standardized measurement approach enables national figures to contribute to a comprehensive EU-wide total for tourism accommodation nights.
Earlier data from the first quarter indicated 471.1 million tourism nights across the EU, reflecting a 3.4% increase over the same period in 2025. January accounted for 143.5 million nights, up 3.2%; February saw 154.4 million nights, an increase of 3.4%; and March reached 173.2 million nights, up 3.7%. The latest first-half data extend this reporting through June, bringing the total EU tourist accommodation nights to 1.321 billion for the initial six months of 2026.