Spain ranked first among European countries in terms of the number of tourist overnight stays in 2025, confirming its status as one of the world’s leading tourist destinations. According to data from the Experts Club information and analysis centre, tourists spent 329.7 million nights in hotels and other accommodation facilities in Spain last year.
Italy took second place with 264.7 million overnight stays, and Turkey came third with 154.8 million. Next came France with 150.8 million overnight stays and the United Kingdom with 149.8 million, although the figures for the UK are for 2024.
The top ten also included Greece with 130.9 million overnight stays, Austria with 97 million, Croatia with 85.6 million, Germany with 83.6 million and the Netherlands with 64.3 million. Thus, the European tourism market continues to be shaped not only by the largest EU countries but also by medium-sized destinations with a strong focus on resorts and culture.
Spain remains the leader thanks to a combination of beach tourism, major city destinations, a well-developed hotel infrastructure and high demand from travellers from Europe and other regions. Despite protests against overtourism in certain regions of Spain and Italy, tourist flows to these countries remain high.
France maintains a strong position not only thanks to Paris. In summer, tourists are drawn to the Côte d’Azur and Provence, and in winter to the Alpine resorts. Austria and Croatia also demonstrate that countries with smaller populations can rank among the leaders by specialising in mountain, cultural and seaside tourism.
Europe as a whole remains the most visited region in the world. According to the data cited in the article, travellers spent over 1.5 billion nights in European accommodation, whereas in 1950 this figure stood at just around 25 million.
For the travel market, this confirms the steady recovery and growth of the tourism industry following the pandemic. According to estimates by the World Travel and Tourism Council, the travel and tourism sector could grow by 3.2% in 2026, and the industry will support 376 million jobs worldwide, or roughly one in nine jobs.
