This volume, facilitated through online portals such as Airbnb, Booking, Expedia, and TripAdvisor, represented a 13.4% increase from the corresponding period in 2022.
According to Eurostat’s latest figures, this surge in digital platform tourism has consistently outpaced pre-pandemic numbers, breaking monthly records. July alone saw 115.7 million nights booked, a 10.7% rise from July 2022. The momentum continued into August with 124.7 million nights (up 11.7% from August 2022), and September recorded 69.1 million nights, a significant 21.6% increase from September of the previous year.
The nine-month period of 2023 highlighted an impressive trend, with over 546.2 million nights spent in short-term EU lodgings booked online. This marked a substantial growth from 2022’s figures for the same period, which stood at 488.6 million nights (an 11.8% increase) and significantly surpassed the pre-pandemic levels of 423.7 million nights in the first nine months of 2019 (a 28.9% increase).
In terms of regional popularity for these online bookings, the second quarter of 2023 saw Spain’s Andalusia leading with 7.1 million nights, closely followed by Croatia’s Adriatic Coast at 6.5 million, and France’s Île-de-France region with 5.8 million.
Out of the top 20 destinations, Spain featured 7 regions, with France and Italy each contributing 5, Portugal having 2, and Croatia making an impressive appearance with 1 region.
