What EU country reported the biggest increase in foreign tourism in the first quarter of 2025?

Latvia reported the largest increase in overnight stays by foreign visitors in the European Union in the first quarter of 2025, with a 18.5% increase year-on-year, new data from Eurostat has found.

Other countries to report a notable increase in foreign visitors in the first quarter included Malta (+17.2%) and Finland (+10.6%).

At the other end of the scale, Ireland reported a 23.1% decrease in foreign tourists, year-on-year, in the first quarter, followed by Croatia (-16.7%) and Sweden (-11.5%).

Overnight stays

Foreign visitors accounted for 45.6% of all overnight stays recorded in the EU in the quarter, with the biggest share of foreign overnight stays recorded in Malta (91.2%), Cyprus (85.7%) and Luxembourg (80.4%).

In Poland, foreign guests accounted for just 18.6% of all overnight stays, however, followed by Romania (20.1%) and Germany (20.2%).

Overall, in the first quarter of 2025, some 452.4 million overnight stays were recorded in tourist accommodations – such hotels and guesthouses – across the EU, which marks a 0.2% decline on the corresponding period a year earlier.

In January, tourist accommodation stays were 3.5% higher, while in February, they fell by 0.8%, and in March, they were 2.7% lower, Eurostat noted. Read more here.

Nights Spent at EU Tourist Accommodation Establishments (March 2025)