In 2018, the number of bed nights spent in tourist accommodations across the European Union is expected to have reached more than 3.1 billion, or 2.2 percent up from 2017, according to early estimates released by Eurostat.

By country, Spain topped the list with 467 million bed nights, in spite of the total inching down 0.9 percent from 2017. France came in second, with 444 million bed nights, or 2.4 percent up year-on-year, and Germany, with 419 million bed nights in 2018, or 4.3 percent up from 2017. Croatia recorded 89.4 million bed nights, or 3.9 percent up from 2017.

Since 2009, there has been a steady increase in the number of nights spent in tourist accommodation across the EU, notably driven by the rise in the nights spent by non-residents of the country visited.

The number of nights spent in tourist accommodation in 2018 increased in nearly all EU countries, with the largest growth recorded in Latvia (by 8.3 percent), Lithuania (7.7 percent) and Malta (6.5 percent), followed by Poland (5.8 percent), Romania (5.5 percent) and Belgium (5.4 percent).

In contrast, decreases were registered only in Luxembourg (by 4.3 percent), Ireland (1.5 percent) and Spain (0.9 percent).

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