LUXEMBOURG / RankWire.AI / – The European Union reported a total of 1.321 billion overnight stays in tourist accommodations during the first half of 2026. This figure represents a 1.7% increase from 1.299 billion nights logged in the same period of 2025. Eurostat published these data for the period between January and June across the bloc’s 27 member states. The statistics encompass nights spent by both domestic and international visitors in commercial tourism lodging facilities.
Ireland experienced the most significant growth among EU nations, with overnight stays climbing 14.6% compared to 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 registered the largest decrease at 7.7%, with Romania experiencing a 6.7% fall. These figures refer to nights spent rather than visitor arrivals, tourism income, or travel expenditure.
During the first half of 2026, international visitors accounted for 48.9% of all EU tourist accommodation nights. Malta had the highest proportion of foreign overnight stays at 95.2%, followed by Cyprus at 92.6%, and Luxembourg with 87.7%. These statistics include non-resident guests from other EU countries as well as those from outside the bloc. The remaining share of overnight stays was generated by domestic visitors across the EU.
Growth in international visitor nights outpaces domestic
Compared with the first half of 2025, nights spent by international travelers increased by 2.5%, whereas domestic visitor nights grew by only 0.9%. As a result, the growth rate of international overnight stays was nearly three times higher than that of domestic stays. Foreign visitors made up nearly half of all recorded tourism nights across the EU. These figures illustrate how resident and non-resident travel contributed separately to the overall 1.7% rise in accommodation nights.
In several major domestic tourism markets, foreign visitors represented a smaller segment of accommodation demand. Germany’s international visitor share was 18.5% during the first six months of 2026. Poland recorded 19.8%, and Romania stood at 23.0%. Each of these countries obtained less than one quarter of their tourism nights from non-residents. The data highlight notable differences in the structure of accommodation demand among individual EU member states.
Accommodation types included in the statistics
Eurostat’s tourism accommodation data encompass hotels, similar establishments, holiday lodgings, and other short-stay accommodations. They also cover camping sites, recreational vehicle parks, and trailer parks. An overnight stay is defined as each night a guest spends at a tourist lodging facility. The data for the first half of the year exclude nights spent in non-rented accommodations. This standardized measurement approach enables national figures to be combined into a comprehensive EU-wide total for tourism accommodation nights.
Earlier data from the first quarter indicated 471.1 million tourism nights across the EU, a 3.4% increase from the same quarter of 2025. January accounted for 143.5 million nights, up 3.2%; February saw 154.4 million nights, an increase of 3.4%; and March recorded 173.2 million nights, up 3.7%. The latest figures extend the reporting period to June, bringing the total EU tourism nights in the first six months of 2026 to 1.321 billion.