In December 2024, international tourist arrivals in Europe remained slightly below the figure reported in 2019, totaling around 42.5 million. Overall, July and August were the months with the highest volume of tourist arrivals in Europe, either before or after the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The number of international tourist arrivals to the selected European destinations increased significantly in 2023 over the previous year, experiencing strong signs of recovery from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and in some cases even surpassing pre-pandemic levels. Overall, Paris and the Île-de-France region recorded the highest figure among the selected destinations in 2023, with around 21.6 million inbound tourist arrivals. London and Istanbul followed in the ranking that year, with roughly 20.3 million and 17.4 million arrivals, respectively. What are the most visited countries by international tourists? Both before and after the health crisis, France was the country with the highest number of inbound tourist arrivals worldwide. In 2023, inbound arrivals to France reached 100 million, the highest figure reported by the country to date. Meanwhile, the United States, which ranked third by inbound arrivals that year, was the country with the highest international tourism receipts worldwide. Has inbound tourism recovered from the impact of COVID-19? While the number of international tourist arrivals worldwide grew sharply in 2023 compared to the previous year, it remained approximately 11 percent lower than in 2019. Overall, the total contribution of travel and tourism to the global GDP was four percent below pre-pandemic levels in 2023.

In 2023, London played a prominent role in supporting international tourism in the United Kingdom. That year, the UK's capital accounted for roughly 53 percent of all inbound tourist arrivals in the country. Meanwhile, Paris represented around 22 percent of the international arrivals to France, whereas travelers to Barcelona made up 14 percent of inbound tourist arrivals in Spain in 2023. 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 2023, with nearly 22 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 over 20 million and 17 million inbound tourist arrivals, respectively. What are the most visited European countries? Both before and after the impact of the health crisis, France was the most visited European country by international travelers. In 2023, it reported 100 million inbound arrivals, ranking ahead of Spain, Italy, and Turkey. On the other hand, Spain was the European country with the highest number of inbound tourism receipts, followed by the United Kingdom.

The number of intra-European tourist arrivals in Europe grew significantly in 2023 over the previous year. Despite the annual increase, intra-European arrivals in the region did not fully recover from the impact of COVID-19, totaling 538 million in 2023. This figure was forecast to reach an estimated 598 million in 2024, exceeding pre-pandemic levels. What are the preferred travel destinations for intra-European trips? In a 2024 survey on the travel intentions of Europeans, nearly 60 percent of respondents planned to travel outside their home country while staying in Europe. That year, Spain, Italy, and France ranked as the preferred European destinations for the next trip among European travelers. What is the travel budget of Europeans? Looking at the travel budget of Europeans planning a trip in 2024, over a quarter of the surveyed travelers estimated to spend between 501 and 1,000 euros on their next trip. When breaking down the expected travel budget of Europeans by age group, respondents aged 25 to 34 reported being the most likely to spend over 2,500 euros, whereas travelers aged 18 to 24 were the most inclined to have a budget of under 500 euros.

The number of tourist arrivals from the United States to Europe grew significantly in 2023 over the previous year, exceeding pre-pandemic levels. In 2023, Southern and Mediterranean European countries were the region's most visited destinations by U.S. travelers, with over 13 million arrivals.

The number of international tourist arrivals worldwide increased across all regions in 2024 over the previous year. Except for the Asia-Pacific region, inbound tourist arrivals in 2024 exceeded pre-pandemic levels. Overall, Europe reported the highest volume of inbound travelers over the period considered, with around 747 million arrivals in 2024. What are the most visited countries by inbound travelers? With Europe being the most visited region by inbound travelers, it does not surprise that two European destinations top the ranking of countries with the highest number of inbound tourist arrivals worldwide. Both before and after the impact of COVID-19, France and Spain reported the most inbound tourist arrivals in the world, ahead of the United States. That said, the United States was the country with the highest international tourism receipt worldwide over the same period. What is the global economic impact of travel and tourism? According to the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), the total contribution of travel and tourism to the gross domestic product worldwide reached just under 10 trillion U.S. dollars in 2023, nearly caching up with pre-pandemic levels. This figure refers to the direct, indirect, and induced impact of the global travel and tourism sector. Meanwhile, the total number of travel and tourism jobs worldwide exceeded 300 million that year.

In 2023, Lloret de Mar in Spain recorded the highest number of tourist arrivals per inhabitant among the selected European cities. The destination, a coastal town located south of Girona and northeast of Barcelona, had roughly 31 tourist arrivals per inhabitant in 2023. That year, Dubrovnik in Croatia and Venice in Italy followed on the list, with around 30 and 23 tourist arrivals per inhabitant, respectively.

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.

French tourists were the most numerous among European visitors to Israel in 2023. That year, almost 230,000 French passport holders entered the country. Russian visitors were the second most common, nearing 160,000, and Italians 107,000. In contrast, only 2,300 Estonians visited Israel in 2023.

The number of tourist arrivals from India to Europe increased sharply in 2023 over the previous year, but remained below pre-pandemic levels. In 2023, Central and Eastern European countries were the region's most visited destinations by Indian travelers, with nearly 1.2 million arrivals.

Tourists from the United Kingdom constituted the highest number of FTAs to India from western European region, amounting to approximately 641 thousand tourists during 2022. Germany constituted the second highest number of foreign tourists arrivals in India that year.

The number of tourist arrivals from China to Europe more than doubled in 2023 over the previous year, but remained significantly below pre-pandemic levels. In 2023, Central and Eastern European countries were the region's most visited destinations by Chinese travelers, with over 1.7 million arrivals.

In 2023, Andorra recorded the highest number of inbound tourist arrivals per inhabitant among the selected European countries, with roughly 50 international tourist arrivals per inhabitant. The country, which lies between France and Spain, had a population of around 81,000 that year. Meanwhile, France and Spain, which are among the largest countries in Europe and the most visited destinations in the world, recorded 1.5 and 1.8 inbound tourist arrivals per inhabitant in 2023, respectively.

The number of international tourist arrivals worldwide rose sharply in 2023 compared to the previous year across all the most visited destinations in the world. Overall, France was the most visited country by inbound travelers worldwide in 2023, with 100 million international tourist arrivals. Spain, the United States, and Italy followed in the ranking that year. Has global inbound tourism recovered from the impact of COVID-19? In 2023, the number of international tourist arrivals worldwide totaled approximately 1.3 billion. While this figure represented a 33 percent annual increase, it remained below the peak in inbound tourist arrivals reported in 2019, the year before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. That said, international tourism receipts worldwide exceeded pre-pandemic levels in 2023, peaking at 1.5 trillion U.S. dollars. What are the most popular global regions for inbound tourism? When breaking down the number of international tourist arrivals worldwide by region, Europe has consistently reported the highest volume of inbound travelers, both before and after the impact of the health crisis. In 2023, this region alone accounted for roughly 55 percent of global inbound tourist arrivals. Meanwhile, Asia and the Pacific recorded the second-highest number of inbound tourist arrivals worldwide in 2023.

The number of tourist arrivals from Argentina to Europe grew significantly in 2023 over the previous year, but remained below pre-pandemic levels. In 2023, Southern and Mediterranean European countries were the region's most visited destinations by visitors from Argentina, with 827,000 arrivals.

The number of tourist arrivals from Mexico to Europe roughly doubled in 2023 over the previous year, exceeding pre-pandemic levels. In 2023, Southern and Mediterranean European countries were the region's most visited destinations by Mexican visitors, with over 1.3 million arrivals.

The number of tourist arrivals from China in all forms of paid accommodation establishments in Italy more than tripled in 2023 over the previous year. That said, arrivals from China to Italy remained significantly below pre-pandemic levels, totaling around 1.1 million in 2023. Meanwhile, Hungary reported the sharpest annual increase in Chinese tourist arrivals among the selected countries in 2023.

The number of tourist arrivals from Brazil to Europe grew sharply in 2023 over the previous year, but remained below pre-pandemic levels. In 2023, Southern and Mediterranean European countries were the region's most visited destinations by Brazilian travelers, with nearly 2.1 million arrivals.

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic turned the tourism industry upside down, as governments implemented travel restrictions and stay-at-home measures to face the global health crisis. In the Netherlands, due to the pandemic, the number of inbound tourists from Europe dropped sharply in 2020 over the previous year, declining from over 16 million to roughly 6.4 million. Overall, European tourists represented the vast majority of inbound tourists in the Netherlands in 2020. Looking at the forecasts for 2021, a January 2021 study analyzed different scenarios. In the best-case scenario, assuming that traveling from neighboring countries will be again permitted in April or May, European inbound tourists were forecast to reach almost 8.8 million in 2021. In the worst-case scenario, with restrictions taking place until the end of 2021, the number of inbound tourists from Europe to the Netherlands was estimated to decrease further in 2021 to around 4.2 million.

COVID-19 impact on inbound tourism in the Netherlands On March 15, 2020, the Netherlands implemented a national lockdown to face a rise in the number of COVID-19 infections in the country. As a result of the emergency measures, the number of monthly international tourist arrivals in the Netherlands fell by roughly 98 percent in April 2020 over the previous year. As the lockdown was gradually eased in May and June, this scenario improved during the summer months. However, as the country implemented other restrictions since October due to an increase in COVID-19 infections, the number of arrivals decreased again in the following months, reaching roughly 126 thousand in December 2020.

COVID-19 impact on inbound tourism receipts in the Netherlands As a result of the COVID-19 impact, international tourist receipts in the Netherlands also went down significantly. In the second quarter of 2020, they amounted to roughly 1.27 billion U.S. dollars, whereas they added up to around 4.8 billion in the second quarter of 2019. Inbound tourism receipts partially recovered in the third quarter of 2020, but a loss of over two billion U.S. dollars was recorded compared to the third quarter of 2019.

According to the UNWTO, Finland recorded the highest tourism intensity among the selected European countries in 2021, with an average of roughly five inbound and domestic tourist arrivals per inhabitant. That year, Spain, with its much larger population, ranked third. In 2021, Spain was among the countries with the highest number of international tourist arrivals worldwide.