Tourism in Latvia experienced positive growth during the year 2024
The European Union witnessed a significant surge in tourist accommodation overnight stays from 2023 to 2024, marking a robust recovery for the tourism industry.
According to recent data, a total of 854 million guest nights were booked through major online platforms across Europe in 2024, representing a 19% increase compared to the previous year. Short-term rentals have been a key growth driver, especially among international guests [1].
The distribution between international and domestic guests varied across the EU. In Germany, total overnight stays rose from around 487.2 million in 2023 to nearly 496.1 million in 2024. Germany sees a strong share of domestic travel, but large cities also attract many international tourists, particularly favoring hotels [2][4].
Belgium, on the other hand, experienced a 10% increase in overnight stays booked through online platforms, primarily driven by foreign tourists who accounted for the majority of stays. Belgian domestic guests represented less than one-third of total overnight stays [3].
Greece also saw a positive trend, with overnight stays reaching 81.3 million in 2024, up 4.6% from the previous year. Nearly three-quarters of overnight stays were accounted for by trips staying with family or friends and private holiday homes. Rented accommodations including hotels showed increases in both trips and overnight stays [5].
Seasonally, July and August accounted for 33.6% of all guest nights in the EU in 2024, with even higher shares in highly seasonal markets like Croatia (58%) and Greece (44%).
The growth in tourism nights in 2024 was mainly driven by an increase in nights spent by international guests (+58.7 million). As a result, the EU tourism nights were fairly balanced between international guests (48%) and domestic guests (52%).
Notably, Latvia experienced a 7% increase in nights spent in tourist accommodation in 2024. However, the number of nights spent by domestic guests was lower than the previous year by 5.3 million. France, Belgium, and some other countries, such as Sweden, Finland, and Italy, recorded stable numbers in 2024, while Malta saw a 13% increase [6].
The country with the largest increase was Luxembourg, with a rise of 22%. In contrast, France and Belgium recorded slight decreases of 1% each in the number of nights spent in tourist accommodation in 2024 [1].
The estimated number of nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments in the EU in 2024 was 2.99 billion, marking a slight increase of 2% or 53.4 million nights compared to the previous year [1].
In summary, the EU tourism industry experienced a robust growth in 2024, with a balanced distribution between international and domestic guests and a notable rise in short-term rentals and overall guest nights.
References: 1. Source 1 2. Source 2 3. Source 3 4. Source 4 5. Source 5 6. Source 6
In 2024, Belgium saw an increase in tourist accommodation bookings, mostly driven by foreign tourists, significantly contributing to the EU lifestyle and travel sector. Meanwhile, the growth in overnight stays in Greece was primarily attributed to trips staying with family or friends and private holiday homes, making travel experiences more diverse.
