Tourists spent 471.1 million nights in accommodation across the EU in the first three months of 2026, up 3.4% on the same period a year earlier.
The rise was recorded in each month of the quarter, with 143.5 million nights in January (up 3.2% year on year), 154.4 million in February (up 3.4%) and 173.2 million in March (up 3.7%), Eurostat reported on Tuesday.
Ireland had the largest increase in overnight stays in the first quarter, rising 35.3% compared with a year earlier, followed by Malta (11.1%) and Denmark (9.3%).
Nine EU countries recorded a fall over the period, with the biggest declines in Lithuania (down 12.9%), Romania (down 6.7%) and Luxembourg (down 3.8%).
Foreign visitors made up nearly half of overnight stays
Foreign visitors accounted for about 46.6% of all nights spent in tourist accommodation in the first quarter, with wide variation between countries, Eurostat said.
The highest shares of foreign overnight stays were recorded in Malta (93.3%), Cyprus (85.6%) and Luxembourg (85.1%).
Foreign guests accounted for around one-fifth of overnight stays in Germany (19.9%), Poland (20.2%) and Romania (22.4%).
Compared with the first quarter of 2025, nights spent by foreign visitors rose 5.5% and nights spent by domestic visitors rose 1.7%.
