Open-air tourism on the rise in Europe: overnight stays at campsites, in motorhomes and caravans have risen to 413 million

Brussels – Over the last ten years, the popularity of outdoor holidays has grown: compared to 2015, the number of nights spent at campsites and on motorhome and caravan sites in the European Union stood at 413 million in 2025, representing a 28.5 per cent increase, while the number of nights spent in hotels, holiday homes or other short-stay accommodation recorded a smaller increase (23.4 per cent). Data published today (2 April) by Eurostat show that among the top ten European countries for nights spent camping and in caravans in 2025 are: France with 154 million nights (37.2 per cent of nights spent in such accommodation across the EU), Spain (49.8 million), Italy (49.1 million) and Germany (45.0 million), followed by the Netherlands, Croatia, Sweden, Denmark, Austria, and Portugal with figures ranging from 26.8 to 7.1 million. 

In 2025, 67 per cent (277 million nights) of all nights spent in these accommodations were concentrated in the summer months, between June and August. The figures began to rise in March, peaked in August with 118 million nights spent, then fell to 40 million in September and 15 million in October, ending the year with almost 5 million nights in December. 

According to Eurostat data, 2025 marked a milestone for the travel sector in the European Union, reaching a record of 3.1 billion overnight stays (including hotels and similar accommodation, holiday homes and other short-stay accommodation, as well as campsites, motorhome and caravan sites), representing a 2.2 per cent increase on the previous year. At the national level, Spain remains the top destination with over half a billion overnight stays (514 million). Compared to 2024, 66.4 million more nights were spent, of which 10.7 million were recorded in Italy. Italy made the largest absolute contribution to the increase in foreign visitor numbers with 10.8 million more international nights, closely followed by France (+10.1 million). 

The real driving force behind this growth was international tourism: in the fourth quarter of 2025, compared with the fourth quarter of 2024, the overall increase of 15.9 million overnight stays (+3 per cent) was recorded mainly in the international tourism segment (+5.2 per cent), which accounted for the majority of the overall increase (+12.7 million, compared with +3.3 million additional overnight stays in the domestic segment). The largest increases in international overnight stays in the fourth quarter of 2025 were recorded in Spain (+2.2 million), Italy (+1.9 million), France (+1.7 million), and Austria (+1.5 million). In relative terms, Ireland (+17.9 per cent), Romania and Slovakia (both +17.4 per cent), and Malta (+13.2 per cent) recorded the highest growth in overnight stays by foreign visitors in the fourth quarter of 2025. Hungary recorded the highest growth rate in the number of domestic overnight stays (+6.5 per cent), followed by Sweden (+5.9 per cent) and Poland (+5.7 per cent), but in absolute terms the largest increases were recorded in Poland (+927,000 domestic overnight stays), Germany (+892,000 domestic overnight stays), and Sweden (+504,000 domestic overnight stays). 

As regards travellers’ preferences in 2025, hotels and similar establishments remain the predominant choice, accommodating 62.5 per cent of tourists annually, followed by short-stay accommodation (24.1 per cent) and campsites (13.4 per cent). These figures highlight the sector’s vital importance, which contributes around 4.5 per cent to the EU’s gross value added, supporting employment and economic growth across the continent.