Tourism nights across the European Union rose by 3.4% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2026, new data from Eurostat has revealed.
According to the data, travellers spent 471.1 million nights in tourist accommodation across the EU during the first three months of this year.
January recorded 143.5 million overnight stays, up 3.2% compared with the same month in 2025, while February rose 3.4% to 154.4 million nights. March posted the strongest year-on-year growth, increasing 3.7% to 173.2 million nights, Eurostat noted.
Ireland leads the way
On a country-by-country basis, Ireland saw by far the biggest increase in overnight stays in tourist accommodation during the period, with growth of more than a third (+35.3%).
Other countries to report a notable increase included Malta (11.1%) and Denmark (9.3%), while several countries posted year-on-year declines, including Lithuania (-12.9%), Romania (-6.7%) and Luxembourg (-3.8%).
Foreign and domestic visitors
Foreign visitors accounted for 46.6% of all overnight stays across the EU in the first quarter, Eurostat noted, although the share varied widely between member states.
The highest proportion of foreign overnight stays was recorded in Malta at 93.3%, followed by Cyprus at 85.6% and Luxembourg at 85.1%.
Elsewhere, domestic tourism remained dominant in larger markets such as Germany, where foreign guests accounted for just 19.9% of overnight stays. Poland recorded a rate of 20.2% foreign guests, while Romania stood at 22.4%.
Compared with the first quarter of 2025, nights spent by foreign visitors increased 5.5%, outpacing the 1.7% rise recorded for domestic travellers, Eurostat said. Read more here.
