During the third quarter of 2023, a notable 309.4 million tourist nights were recorded in short-term accommodation units across the European Union.
These bookings, made through online platforms such as Airbnb, Booking, Expedia, or TripAdvisor, marked a 13.4% increase compared to the same period in 2022.
Data from Eurostat revealed that platform-based tourism continued to exceed pre-pandemic levels, setting new monthly records: In July, accommodation booked via online platforms accounted for 115.7 million nights, up 10.7% from July 2022. August saw this figure rise to 124.7 million nights, an 11.7% increase from August 2022, while September reached 69.1 million nights, a substantial 21.6% rise compared to September 2022.
In the first nine months of 2023, guests spent over 546.2 million nights in EU short-term accommodation units booked through online platforms. This significant growth, compared to the same period in 2022 (488.6 million nights; +11.8%), far surpassed pre-pandemic levels (423.7 million nights in the first nine months of 2019; +28.9%).
The most popular regions for short-term rental accommodation booked via online platforms in the second quarter of 2023 were Andalusia in Spain (7.1 million nights), the Adriatic Coast in Croatia (6.5 million), and the French region of Île-de-France (5.8 million).
Among the top 20 regions, Spain boasted 7, followed by France and Italy with 5 each, 2 regions in Portugal, and 1 in Croatia.