- by croatiaweek
- in News
Croatia recorded the highest tourism intensity in the European Union last year, with an average of 24.5 overnight stays in tourist accommodation per resident, according to new data published by Eurostat on Friday.
The figure placed Croatia ahead of Malta, which recorded 21.7 overnight stays per inhabitant, and Cyprus, with 19.4. Greece ranked fourth at 15.1, followed by Austria at 14.6.
The figures highlight Croatia’s position as one of Europe’s most tourism-intensive destinations, reflecting the importance of the sector to the country and the scale of visitor activity relative to its resident population.
Tourism intensity measures the number of nights spent in rented tourist accommodation per inhabitant. It is also used as an indicator of the potential pressure tourism places on local communities.
The EU average reached 7.0 overnight stays per resident in 2025, up from 6.7 in 2024.
EU tourist accommodation records 3.1 billion overnight stays
Across the EU, tourist accommodation establishments recorded 3.1 billion overnight stays in 2025, an increase of 4.1% compared with the three billion recorded in 2024.
The total was 26.5% higher than in 2015, when the figure stood at approximately 2.5 billion nights.
In 2025, the EU recorded 3.1 billion nights spent in tourist accommodation establishments.🏨 🛌
Highest ratios in:
🇭🇷 Croatia (24.5 nights per inhabitant)
🇲🇹 Malta (21.7)Lowest in:
🇷🇴 Romania (1.6)
🇱🇻 Latvia (2.7)Read more 👉 https://t.co/8RrlZUt9z6 https://t.co/4GDrO89w4W
— EU_Eurostat (@EU_Eurostat) October 16, 2026
Domestic tourists and visitors from other EU countries accounted for 80.9% of all overnight stays, equivalent to around 2.5 billion nights. Tourists from other European countries represented a further 10.4%.
Visitors from the Americas accounted for 4.9% of overnight stays, or 155.5 million nights, while tourists from Asia represented 2.6%, with 81.6 million nights.
Smaller shares came from Oceania, at 0.5% or 15.2 million nights, and Africa, at 0.4% or 12.9 million nights.
The largest increases in overnight stays between 2024 and 2025 came from tourists travelling from Asia and Africa.
Overnight stays by visitors from Asia rose by 15.4%, while those from Africa increased by 13.7%. Over the longer period between 2015 and 2025, overnight stays by tourists from the Americas more than doubled, increasing by 101.9% from almost 77 million.
The figures point to continued growth in European tourism, alongside changes in the geographical distribution of visitors.