In 2020, the tourism industry has suffered from the COVID-19 outbreak. This is evident when comparing 2020 tourism accommodation figures with those of 2019.
From January to August 2020, the number of nights spent in tourist accommodation establishments in the EU, such as hotels, holiday and other short-stay accommodation and campings, totalled 1.1 billion, a decline of 50% from January-August 2019.
Looking at data per month, the most substantial falls in the number of nights spent in tourist accommodation establishments were recorded in April (-95%) and May (-89%) compared with the same months of 2019.
In the summer period, there was only a partial recovery, with falls of 71% in June, 42% in July and 32% in August. In the period July-August 2020, the number of nights spent in tourist accommodation establishments decreased by 37% compared to the same period in 2019.
In July-August, the decline in the number of nights spent in tourist accommodation was stronger for guests from foreign countries (-60% compared to the same period in 2019) than for domestic guests from the reporting country (-17%)
The number of nights spent in tourist accommodation establishments declined across all Member States, for which data are available, in January-August 2020 when compared with a year earlier, ranging from a 29% decline in the Netherlands to a drop of 77% in Greece. The declines were in excess of 40% for 16 out of 25 Member States.
