Eurostat: More Overnights Spent in EU in 2021, Greece in the Lead

Photo source: Eurostat

Greece is among the countries that recorded the largest increases in the number of nights spent in 2021 compared to 2020, according to data released by Eurostat this week.

The latest data reveals a rise in overnight stays of over 70 percent for Greece, Spain and Croatia, and notes that the overall figure has improved compared to 2020.

Overall, the number of overnight stays at EU accommodation facilities came to 1.8 billion up by 27 percent over 2020, which Eurostat notes is a sign that the tourism sector has started to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic.

The figure is however still down by 37 percent compared with pre-pandemic 2019. Analysts add that the removal of travel restrictions and precautionary measures contributed to the improvement.  

Compared to 2019 figures, all EU countries recorded a decrease in non-resident guests. Latvia, Slovakia and Czechia took the biggest blow, marking drops of more than 75 percent, while Croatia and Luxembourg were the least affected with declines under 45 percent. 

According or the Eurostat report, non-EU residents stayed for more nights in 2021 compared with 2020 from 29 percent to 32 percent in 2021. Analysts attribute the rise to the share of guests from other EU countries which rose from 21 percent in 2020 to 24 percent in 2021.