The European tourist industry is showing signs of strength as it recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic and shows that travelers are once again interested in visiting places in the EU, according to EU Helpers.

11 million more room nights in 2020 than in 2019.
The EU's statistical office, Eurostat, reported that, in contrast to the 1,182 million nights spent in lodging during the first half of 2019, the 2023 numbers showed a notable increase of about 11 million nights.

The first half of 2023 saw exceptional growth in every month, outpacing the 2022 numbers. January, for example, saw a significant gain of 45 percent, while February closely trailed suit with a robust 27 percent increase.

There was an increase of 136 million overnight stays in 2023 compared to the same period in 2022, which had 1,057 million overnight stays overall.

In contrast, even when compared to 2020, 2021 had the lowest numbers and was designated as the beginning of the post-pandemic recovery for tourism.

The first half of 2023 saw an astounding increase, with 786 million more overnight stays reported than in 2021 (407 million).

When comparing the first half of 2023 to the same period in 2020, there were 475 million overnight stays; however, when looking at things more broadly, 2023 shines out with a significant rise of 718 million.

The countries with the biggest improvements in overnight stays were Cyprus, Malta, and Slovakia.
According to the country-specific data, overnight stays increased in every member state except for Hungary, which saw a little decline of -0.3% from the year prior, 2022.

Some destinations stand out for having significantly increased overnight stays between 2022 and 2023: Cyprus with a 38.3% increase, Malta with a considerable 30.5 percent increase, and Slovakia with a noteworthy 28.7% increase.

While there has been a rise in the number of overnight stays compared to the first half of 2022, the numbers are still lower than those of 2019. The target of matching the number of overnight stays recorded in the first half of 2019 is yet unfulfilled in half of the countries.

It will be difficult for nations like Latvia, Slovakia, Hungary, and Lithuania to meet the 2019 numbers because of their respective steep declines of -23 percent, -16 percent, -12.2 percent, and -11.7 percent.

Increases in International Travel in 2023 Making 22.5%
International tourism experienced a significant uptick in 2023, with a 22.5% increase in the number of nights spent by visitors from other countries, amounting to 545 million nights in the first half of the year.

In addition to domestic tourism growing by 5.8%, the number of stays accounted for 46% of all overnight stays.

Because of the pandemic, the percentage of international visitors has fluctuated significantly in recent years.

It started off at 47% in the first half of 2019 and fell to 36% in the first half of 2020 before finally collapsing to 21% in 2021. Nonetheless, there was a strong comeback in 2022, with 42% of all visitors being foreigners.