The number of international tourist arrivals to the selected European destinations increased in 2024 over the previous year, in most cases surpassing pre-pandemic levels. In 2024, Paris and the Île-de-France region recorded the highest figure among the selected destinations, with **** million inbound tourist arrivals. London and Istanbul followed in the ranking that year, with roughly ** million and **** million arrivals, respectively. What are the most visited countries by international tourists? Both before and after the COVID-19 pandemic, France was the country with the highest number of inbound tourist arrivals worldwide. Meanwhile, the United States consistently ranks as the country with the highest international tourism receipts worldwide. How many tourists travel every year? In 2024, the number of international tourist arrivals worldwide exceeded *** billion, catching up with pre-pandemic levels. Breaking down the number of inbound tourist arrivals worldwide by region shows that Europe is the global leading destination for inbound tourism, with over *** million international tourist arrivals in 2024.

In 2024, London was the leading European city tourism destination based on the number of bed nights. That year, bed nights in the United Kingdom's capital reached almost ** million, nearly catching up with pre-pandemic levels. Paris and Istanbul followed in the ranking in 2024, with roughly ** million and **** million bed nights. What are the most visited countries in Europe? While the French capital came in second among leading European cities based on bed nights, France consistently tops the ranking of the European countries with the highest number of inbound tourist arrivals, ahead of Spain, Italy, and Turkey. Meanwhile, when looking at European countries with the highest tourism receipts, Spain recorded the highest figure both before and after the impact of COVID-19. How many international tourists visit Europe every year? In 2024, the number of international tourist arrivals in Europe totaled over *** million. This figure, which also exceeded pre-pandemic levels, made Europe the region with the highest number of international tourist arrivals worldwide that year.

Florence, the famous Italian city, was the best-rated European city by readers of a U.S. travel magazine in 2025, scoring 90.08 out of 100 points. Seville in Spain, ranked second with 89.49 points.

Istanbul was the leading destination in Turkey based on the volume of international tourist arrivals in 2023 and 2024. Overall, inbound travelers in that city totaled over 18.5 million in 2024, more than in the previous year. Antalya was the second-leading tourist destination, with around 15.9 million inbound arrivals. Istanbul does not lose its popularity Istanbul has been an attractive destination with plenty of sights, including mosques, churches, museums, palaces, and the Bosphorus Strait, which connects two large continents, Europe and Asia. This city, which has hosted different civilizations and cultures for centuries, has welcomed millions of foreign and local visitors for years. The number of foreign tourist arrivals in the largest city in Turkey has increased since 2020, when it dropped due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. In line with the high inflation in the country, accommodation prices in Istanbul have generally been increasing. As of October 2023, the average cost for an overnight stay in the city was 117 euros. Domestic tourism is falling back Although international tourism in Turkey has been recovering from the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and its limitations, domestic tourism has fallen behind. Factors such as high inflation, price increases, and the soaring cost of living in the country have also affected local tourism. In 2023, the number of domestic trips was about 22 percent less compared to the peak figures in 2018. In relation to this, the number of overnight stays of domestic travelers has been generally following a negative trend in the last few years. Local tourists recorded roughly 473 million nights at accommodations in 2023, still below the pre-pandemic levels.

In 2024, London played a prominent role in supporting international tourism in the United Kingdom. That year, the UK's capital accounted for roughly ** percent of all inbound tourist arrivals in the country. Meanwhile, Paris and the Île-de-France region represented around ** percent of all international arrivals to France, whereas travelers to Barcelona made up almost ** percent of inbound tourist arrivals in Spain in 2024. What are the most visited European cities? When looking at the number of inbound tourist arrivals to leading travel destinations in Europe, Paris and Île-de-France, the region surrounding the French capital, recorded the highest figure in 2024, with nearly ** million arrivals. London and Istanbul, also among the leading city tourism destinations in Europe based on the number of bed nights, followed in the ranking that year, with around ** million and over ** million inbound tourist arrivals, respectively. What are the most visited European countries? Both before and after the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, France, Spain, and Italy were the most visited European countries by international travelers. Meanwhile, Spain consistently ranks as the European country with the highest number of inbound tourism receipts.

The number of international tourist arrivals in Europe rose significantly in 2023 compared to the previous year across all the most visited destinations in the region. Overall, France was the most visited country by inbound travelers in Europe in 2023. That year, France - which also topped the ranking of the countries with the highest number of international tourist arrivals worldwide - reported *** million international tourist arrivals, the highest figure recorded by the destination to date. Spain, Italy, and Turkey followed on the list in 2023. Europe is the most popular region for inbound tourism Europe is the region with the highest number of inbound tourism arrivals worldwide, with over *** million arrivals in 2023. Comparatively, there were nearly *** million international tourist arrivals in Asia and the Pacific, the second-most visited global region by inbound travelers that year. When breaking down the number of inbound arrivals in Europe by sub-region, Southern and Mediterranean countries reported the highest figures, both before and after the impact of COVID-19. Travel & Tourism Development Index France and Spain, among the most popular travel destinations in Europe in terms of inbound arrivals, were also among the leading countries in the Travel & Tourism Development Index (TTDI). The TTDI index measures factors and policies that support a sustainable and resilient development of travel and tourism worldwide. In 2023, Spain ranked first with a TTDI score of ****, followed by France and Germany.

Poles were the most likely to buy airline tickets to European cities on the FRU platform in the summer of 2024. Among them, European capitals were mainly popular.

This statistic shows the number of international overnight visitors in the most popular European city destinations in 2016. London had the largest number of international overnight visitors in 2016 with 19.06 million.

In 2016, London had the second most international overnight visitors. In that same year, London ranked as the third leading city in terms of international visitor spending in the world. In 2016, some 858 thousand international overnight visitors to London came from New York, United States.

Spain was the most visited European country among outbound travelers from the United Kingdom in 2024, with ***** million visits. This figure denotes roughly a *** percent drop compared to 2019, prior to the coronavirus pandemic. France, Italy, and Turkey followed in the ranking in 2024.

In 2023, London was the leading European city tourism destination based on the number of bed nights. That year, bed nights in the United Kingdom's capital exceeded 78 million, denoting a sharp annual increase but not fully recovering yet from the impact of COVID-19. Meanwhile, Paris and Istanbul followed in the ranking in 2023, with roughly 52 million and nearly 30 million bed nights. What are the most visited countries in Europe? While the French capital came in second among leading European cities based on bed nights, France topped the ranking of the European countries with the highest number of inbound tourist arrivals in 2023, ahead of Spain, Italy, and Turkey. Meanwhile, when looking at European countries with the highest tourism receipts that year, Spain recorded the highest figure, with over 90 billion U.S. dollars, followed by the United Kingdom. How many international tourists visit Europe every year? In 2023, the number of international tourist arrivals in Europe grew significantly over the previous year, totaling over 700 million. This figure, however, remained below pre-pandemic levels. Overall, either before and after the impact of COVID-19, Europe was the region with the highest number of international tourist arrivals worldwide.

Madrid was the most visited city destination in Spain in 2023, having welcomed nearly ** million overnight visitors. The Catalonian capital followed second in the ranking that year, with roughly *** million tourists spending at least one night in the destination. How did Madrid rank in tourist visits and accommodation? In 2022, Madrid attracted over 4.5 million domestic and 4.6 million international tourists for stays exceeding one day, despite experiencing a more than 10 percent decrease compared to 2019 pre-pandemic levels. Furthermore, the Spanish capital has consistently ranked among the top ten European cities with the highest number of nights spent by tourists in paid accommodation, securing the 8th position that year. Which regions attracted the most international tourists? Spain's international tourism rebounded strongly from the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, surpassing 100 million visitors in 2022. Catalonia led as the most visited region, attracting over **** million international tourists. The United Kingdom played a pivotal role as the primary source of international tourists, contributing over ** million travelers, followed by France with around ** million visitors.

A 2025 study analyzed the cheapest cities to visit in Europe by calculating the average price of a series of products, services, and activities. Overall, Riga, in Latvia, ranked as the cheapest European travel destination, with an average daily cost of around *** British pounds. Vilnius, in Lithuania, followed in second place, with an average cost of roughly *** British pounds per day.

In 2015, Dubai was the city with the highest number of tourists staying at least one night per capita. That same year, international overnight visitor spending in Dubai reached 28.5 billion US dollars. The city, which is the largest and most populous city in the United Arab Emirates, was also one of the most expensive holiday destinations in the world in 2018. In 2016, 14.87 million people visited Dubai from abroad.

Europe and Asia: top destinations

According to the source, most of the 20 tourist cities with the highest number of visitor arrivals per capita were Asian or European cities. After Dubai, Amsterdam and Prague were the second and third cities with the greatest number of tourists spending at least one night per capita. With respectively, 2.7 and 2.5 visitors per capita, the two European cities were followed by another one: London. Singapore, ranked fifth with 2.1 visitors per capita, was the first Asian city in the list. Thus, New-York the first North American city of this ranking was 17th. It appears that Europe remains one of the most popular tourist destinations. Asia was also a very attractive destinations for international visitors with Hong-Kong being the leading city destination in 2017.

Focus on tourism in Europe

Since the nineties, the number of international tourist arrivals in Europe keeps increasing. France is the European country with the largest number of international visitors’ arrivals, while Spain and Italy are also two of the leading tourist destinations on the continent. Travel and tourism have an important contribution to GDP in Europe, reaching 781.6 billion US dollar and 2018 and expected to attain 991.4 billion in 2028.

As of 2024, Paris was rated the best prepared city in Europe for a smart city future, with an index score of ****. London and Amsterdam followed, with **** and ****, respectively. While Paris and London ranked best in their connectivity and infrastructure preparedness, Amsterdam scored best in the city's technology job market.

According to a June 2025 study, Spain was the preferred destination among European travelers for their next European trip. As of that month, ** percent of respondents intended to visit the country on their next trip within Europe. Italy and France followed in the ranking. What are the travel habits of Europeans? In 2025, air travel was the most popular mode of transport among Europeans planning a trip, with car travel being the second favorite option. Meanwhile, partners and family members were the preferred trip companions for Europeans in 2025, while just above ** percent of travelers intended to go on a solo trip. What are the favorite types of holidays in Europe? In a 2025 survey, most Europeans cited leisure as the main reason for traveling within Europe, with visiting friends or relatives and attending an event being the second and third most common trip purposes, respectively. When focusing on vacationers, sun and beach holidays ranked as Europeans' preferred type of leisure trip in 2025, followed by nature and outdoor vacations.

Younger audiences dominate TikTok, a social video app that is also used extensively by influencers and travel bloggers. In April 2023, ********* was the city in Europe with the most TikTok views, amassing over *** billion views of videos tagged with the city's name. ****** was also extremely popular with TikTok users, totaling over **** billion views in April 2023, making the UK capital one of the most danceable cities in Europe. Other popular European cities tagged on the app were Paris, Istanbul, and Madrid.

As of 2024, Paris was rated the European city with the best smart city infrastructure, having an index score of ****. London and Madrid followed, with **** and ****, respectively. While Paris and London are both in the top three of the best prepared European cities for a smart city future with Madrid ranked fifth, with a general index score of ****.

Marbella, Spain was chosen by participants of a global survey as the best European travel destination in early-2024. Following in the list were Monaco and Malta, with more than 130 thousand votes each.

According to a December 2023 study, France was the preferred European destination among Chinese travelers planning a trip to Europe between January and April 2024. Overall, ** percent of the sample intended to visit that destination. Italy followed in the ranking, mentioned by a third of Chinese respondents.

TikTok is a social video app that is very popular with younger audiences and widely used by influencers and travel bloggers. In **********, TikTok videos tagged in Barcelona amassed ****** TikTok views per inhabitant of the city. Additionally, there were ** thousand videos per inhabitant tagged in Paris. Other popular cities included Manchester, Lyon, and Stuttgart.