During the third quarter of 2023, Europe experienced a surge in short-term rental accommodation bookings, with guests booking a total of 309.4 million nights through popular online platforms such as Airbnb, Booking, Expedia Group, and TripAdvisor.
The EU’s Agency for Statistics, Eurostat, reported that this figure marked a 13.4% increase compared to the same period in 2022, showing the resilience and recovery of the tourism industry.
The momentum in tourism on the platform surpassed pre-pandemic levels, with a record 115.7 million nights booked in July alone, representing a 10.7% increase from July 2022. August and September also saw increases of 11.7% and 21.6% in booked nights compared to the previous year.
In the first nine months of 2023, over 546.2 million nights were booked in the EU’s short-term rental accommodations through online platforms, reflecting an 11.8% growth from the same period in 2022. This also surpassed pre-pandemic levels, with a 28.9% increase from 2019.
The preferred destinations for short-term rental accommodations in the second quarter of 2023 included regions in Spain, Croatia, and France. Andalucía in Spain, Jadranska Hrvatska in Croatia, and the Île de France region in France were the top three spots for bookings.
According to Eurostat, Spain dominated the list of top 20 regions, securing seven positions, while France and Italy each secured five positions. Portugal took two spots, and Croatia was featured in one area.
In addition, a previous Eurostat report showed that the first half of last year saw 237 million visitors across the EU using online platforms to book short-term rental accommodations. This trend continued in the second quarter of 2023, with 153 million nights spent in short-term rental accommodations, indicating the continued growth and popularity of these platforms in the region.
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