Eurostat: the number of short-term guest nights booked on online platforms in the EU continued to increase

According to the EU’s statistical office, the number of nights spent in accommodation booked on all major online platforms – Airbnb, Booking, Expedia Group and Tripadvisor – increased last year.

Guests booked more nights in every month except April in 2024 than in the same months of the previous year. The largest relative increase compared to 2023 was recorded in March (+48 percent), followed by May (+31.7 percent), August (+21.6 percent) and November (+21.5 percent). The significant increase in guest nights booked in March and the decline in April (-1.8 percent) are likely due to the fact that the Easter holidays fell in March in 2024, while in April in 2023 – it was determined.

According to the report, most accommodations were booked in the summer period between July 1 and August 31. Among the most popular destinations – similarly to the previous year – was the Jadranska Hrvatska region, which forms the coastal part of Croatia, with 25.2 million nights, which represents an increase of +6 percent compared to the same period in 2023.

The second most popular region in the third quarter of 2024 – also similar to the previous year – was Andalusia in Spain with nearly 17.2 million nights, (+23.1 percent) and the Provence-Alpes-Cote d’Azur region in southern France, where guests spent 15.6 million nights (+26.2 percent).

In the same quarter, six of the 20 most popular regions were in France, five in Spain and also five in Italy, two in Greece, as well as one in Croatia and also one in Portugal.