Tourism in Europe: Italy vs
the other major markets

New record of overnights

In 2025, the European tourism market consolidates its recovery, with overnight stays in the EU reaching 3,088.4 million, up +2.2% (+66.4 million) compared to 2024 and above pre-pandemic levels (2,878.2 million in 2019), setting a new all-time high.

Growth is more moderate than in the immediate post-pandemic years, pointing to a phase of stabilisation. Demand remains supported by major markets such as France, Spain, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, Greece and Croatia.

Data for 2025 are not yet fully complete (including Switzerland for 2024, which may result in slight upward revisions. Overall, the 2015-2025 trend shows structural growth, interrupted only during 2020-2021 and followed by a strong recovery.

The Big Six

In 2025, outdoor tourism in Europe is projected to reach 413.2 million visitor arrivals (Eurostat data), a figure that is on the rise (+14.2% compared to 2024, or an increase of 51.3 million arrivals in absolute terms)

In 2025, visitor numbers rose slightly compared with 2024 (+1.1%), with an additional 51.3 million visitors; however, these figures do not include data for Switzerland in 2024.

This result is largely due to growth in some of the leading countries in this sector in Europe (France, Spain, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands and Croatia).

The Big Six

According to Eurostat data on overnight stays in the outdoor sector, France, Spain, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands and Croatia are the main markets, together with Italy.

France retains its leading position within Europe with over 153.8 million visitors (around one-third of total outdoor overnight stays that in 2025 recorded over 413 millions). Among the top six markets, the one with the highest growth compared to 2019 is Germany (+25.9%), followed by the Netherlands (+22.4%).

The majority of overnight stays, more than two-thirds (excluding the UK, for which 2019 data are not available), are accounted for by the top four countries: France, Spain, Italy and Germany, the only ones to reach and exceed the 40 million mark.

It should be noted that the figures for Italy differ from those of Istat (campsites and holiday villages) as the Eurostat source classifies only properties with NACE code 55.3 under the ‘campsite’ category, excluding those with code 55.2 (holiday villages).