During the summer holiday season 2006 – from June to September – 710 million nights were spent in hotels and similar establishments in the EU27, 2.3% more than in the summer season of 2005. This increase was almost entirely due to nights spent by non-residents, which were up by 4.7% to 340 mn, while the number of nights spent by residents in their own country was virtually unchanged at 370 mn. In summer 2005 compared to summer 2004, total nights spent in hotels increased by 5.3%, resulting from an increase of 4.3% for non-residents and 6.2% for residents.



Italy and Spain account for nearly 40% of total nights spent in hotels in the EU27

Amongst the Member States, the highest total numbers of nights spent in hotels in summer 2006 were recorded in Italy (131 mn), Spain (130 mn), Germany (86 mn), France (83 mn) and the United Kingdom (73 mn). Considering only nights spent by non-residents, the highest numbers were registered in Spain (77 mn), Italy (52 mn), France (32 mn), Greece (31 mn) and the United Kingdom (28 mn), while for residents the highest levels were observed in Italy (79 mn), Germany (68 mn), Spain (53 mn), France (51 mn) and the United Kingdom (45 mn).

Total nights spent in hotels in summer 2006 grew in most Member States. The highest increases were recorded in Latvia (+18%), Lithuania (+15%), the Netherlands (+9%) and Spain (+8%), and the largest decreases in Cyprus (-9%) and the United Kingdom (-8%). For non-resident nights, growth ranged from -14% in Romania to +17% in Latvia, while for resident nights growth ranged from -18% in Luxembourg to +37% in Malta.

Share of non-residents in total nights ranged from 17% in Romania to 97% in Malta

Although overall in the EU27 nights spent in hotels in summer 2006 were relatively evenly split between non-residents (48%) and residents (52%), there was considerable variation between Member States. In Malta (97%), Luxembourg (95%), Cyprus (91%), Bulgaria (82%), Greece (81%), Estonia (77%), Austria (73%), Ireland (72%) and Latvia (71%) non-residents accounted for more than 70% of nights, while in Romania (17%), Germany (21%), Sweden (28%) and Finland (30%) non-residents made up 30% or less of nights.