Brussels: In the first quarter of 2026, there were 471.1 million overnight stays in tourist accommodations across the EU, marking an increase of 3.4% compared with the same quarter of 2025. January recorded 143.5 million nights (+3.2% compared with January 2025), February 154.4 million (+3.4%) and March 173.2 million (+3.7%), according to figures published by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.

According to Emirates News Agency, at the country level, Ireland registered by far the highest increase in nights spent in tourist accommodation in the first quarter of the year, at 35.3%, ahead of Malta (11.1%) and Denmark (9.3%). Among the 9 EU countries that saw a decline in the share of visitors, Lithuania recorded the biggest decrease (-12.9%), followed by Romania (-6.7%) and Luxembourg (-3.8%).

Foreign visitors accounted for approximately 46.6% of all overnight stays in the first 3 months of 2026, with large differences among EU countries. The biggest share of foreign overnight stays during this period was recorded in Malta (93.3%), Cyprus (85.6%) and Luxembourg (85.1%).

By contrast, foreign guests accounted for only around one-fifth of overnight stays in Germany (19.9%), Poland (20.2%) and Romania (22.4%). Compared with the first quarter of 2025, there was an increase in both nights spent by foreign (+5.5%) and domestic visitors (+1.7%). The largest increases in overnight stays by foreign visitors were recorded in Ireland (+42.3%), Lithuania (+24.1%) and Slovakia (+15.4%). At the other end of the range, the biggest drops in foreign visitors were recorded in Latvia (-7.5%), Bulgaria (-4.3%) and Belgium (-4.0%).