Do you know how Europeans travel?

The great cultural and gastronomic wealth of European cities and towns attracts, every year, a multitude of tourists, both from inside and outside the European Union. We analyze the data on tourism in the EU in recent years.

Europe has a lot of great places to travel and explore. The great cultural and gastronomic richness of European cities and towns attract, every year, a multitude of tourists, both from inside and outside the European Union. In fact, four countries that are part of the European Union are among the top tourist destinations in the world, according to the World Tourism Organization:

• France
• Spain
• Italy
• Germany

In 2021, EU citizens made 873 million trips, including both business and leisure travel. But which countries receive the most tourists, which European country is the most traveled, what is the favorite means of transport to travel? Let’s analyze last year’s data.

Countries receiving the most travelers

In terms of the number of stays, the countries with more than 105 million in 2022 were, in order, the following:

• Spain
• France
• Germany
• Italy

The next countries with the most stays were the Netherlands, Austria and Greece, with the number of stays ranging from 24 million to 105 million in 2022.

In which country do tourists spend the most nights?

Looking at the number of overnight stays, France overtakes Spain, which had topped the list in 2021, with more than 427 million over 2022. Spain has moved into second position with 422 million, followed by Italy with 376 million.

Which European countries travel the most?

In 2021, EU residents made 873 million overnight trips, regardless of destination and duration. France, Germany and Spain account for more than half of all trips made by EU residents in 2021.

In 2022, based on the number of commercial flights, Germany ranks first among the countries that are part of the European Union. In 2021, it was also the Germans who ranked first, with almost 49 million trips abroad. This figure represents 36.2 % of all trips abroad made by Europeans.

Domestic tourism or visiting abroad?

The majority of trips in 2021 were domestic, i.e. within one’s own country of residence. When it comes to traveling abroad, it is German tourists who take first place, with around 49 million trips in 2021.

When traveling abroad, Europeans mainly visit other EU countries. In 2021, 81.4 % of European trips abroad were within the European Union.

What is the most used means of transport?

According to Eurostat data, in 2021 the favorite means of transport for travel, were:

• Motor vehicles (private or rented), accounting for 74.7 % of all trips made.
• Rail transport,
• Air transport, with 11.9 % and 7.7 %, respectively.

When traveling abroad, the car is also the most chosen means of transport (50.4 %), followed by the airplane (38.4 %). However, when traveling domestically, transport is the second most frequently used means of transport.

Spain, Italy and the Netherlands are the countries with the highest number of flights.

Source: Representation of the European Commission in Spain