europe tourism revenue

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The European Commission supports policymakers and stakeholders in developing better strategies for a more resilient European tourism ecosystem by gathering information and analysis on performance and trends in the sector. 

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The  EU tourism dashboard  is an online knowledge tool aimed at monitoring the  green and digital transitions   of the tourism ecosystem to make tourism more resilient and sustainable. 

The dashboard visualises tourism-relevant data and indicators collected from available, trusted sources covering the tourism ecosystem. It offers snapshot views of key tourism indicators for the European Union and each member country. 

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Flash  Eurobarometer surveys  reveal the preferences and attitudes of Europeans towards tourism. The Eurobarometer surveys offer a portrait of the current situation and an outlook for the upcoming seasons.

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An online repository is available for reports, studies and papers relevant to tourism policymakers and stakeholders. A user-friendly tool allows the library to be searched by country, theme or year of publication. This section offers access to relevant publications of the Directorate-General for the Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs, and the Commission, as well as to a wide range of works published by other institutions, international organisations, EU countries and academia.

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European Union Tourism Revenue

• European Union's Tourism Revenue reached 432 USD bn in Dec 2019, compared with 432 USD bn in the previous year
• European Union's Tourism Revenue data is updated yearly, available from Dec 1999 to Dec 2019
• The data reached an all-time high of 432,150 USD mn in Dec 2019 and a record low of 178,909 USD mn in Dec 2001

View European Union's Tourism Revenue from 1999 to 2019 in the chart:

What was European Union's Tourism Revenue in 2019?

European Union's Tourism Revenue reached 432 USD bn in Dec 2019, compared with 432 USD bn in the previous year See the table below for more data.

Tourism Revenue by Country Comparison

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Market Size of Travel and Tourism in Europe (2017-2021, $ Billion) Share Share on Twitter Share on LinkedIn Industry: Travel services Current: Market Sizing & Shares The market size of the travel and tourism sector in Europe reached a value of $127 billion in 2021 Key travel destinations among travelers in Europe include France, Paris, Amsterdam, Milan, and Berlin The travel and tourism market in Europe grew at a compound annual growth rate of negative 15% during the period 2017-2021 !function(){"use strict";window.addEventListener("message",(function(e){if(void 0!==e.data["datawrapper-height"]){var t=document.querySelectorAll("iframe");for(var a in e.data["datawrapper-height"])for(var r=0;r Market Size of Travel and Tourism in Europe : Industry Overview

Travel and Tourism is one of the key sectors that play a pivotal role in any Country’s Economy and make a significant contribution to the country’s GDP. This growth in travel and tourism activities globally has led to the rise of travel intermediaries and forms an important part of selling travel products to customers.

The market size of the travel and tourism sector in Europe reached a value of $127 billion in 2021. In recent years, the rise in the number of online travel intermediaries was aided by the growth in the number of internet users along with the demand for convenience among travelers further supported the rise in the market for online travel Intermediaries.

The travel and tourism market in Europe grew by 16% in 2021 as the sector witnessed a recovery in the demand after easing the restrictions which were placed on account of the Outbreak of the pandemic COVID-19 and online travel intermediaries’ sharp rise in travel products as the consumers planned their travel activities after the gap of close to two years.

Meanwhile, the growth which the travel and tourism sector was going to see was reversed as the Outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic completely devastated the industry in 2020. During the year 2020, the market value of travel and tourism in the Europe region saw a de-growth of a whopping 60%, and the sectors allied with the industry were severely impacted.

Key travel destinations among travelers in Europe include France, Paris, Amsterdam, Milan, and Berlin.

The travel and tourism market in Europe grew at a compound annual growth rate of negative 15% during the period 2017-2021. The global travel industry along with its allied sectors saw a slump in market value with the pandemic in 2020. Prior, to 2020, the industry was also witnessing slow growth due to low economic growth.

The major companies that have a strong presence in the travel and tourism market for the Europe region include Booking Holding Inc, Expedia , Czechia,TopDeck

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International tourism, receipts for travel items (current US$) - European Union

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68+ europe travel & tourism statistics (latest 2024 data).

It’s no secret that Europe is home to some of the most popular places to visit in the world . With fascinating history, diverse cultures, and gorgeous natural sceneries, there is something to suit every type of tourist.

According to the UN, there are 44 countries in Europe with 27 of them listed as part of the European Union . 

That’s a lot of places to explore and get lost in!

France was the most visited destination in Europe as it saw over 79.4 million global tourist arrivals in 2022. 

Meanwhile, Paris welcomed 16.8 million international tourists in 2018 . It’s second in Europe only to London.

Today, we’re here to present some of the most interesting and crucial statistics about travel and tourism in Europe. From how much revenue this industry generates each year to the impact that recent pandemic had.

Here they are!

Sources : I’ve referenced individual sources after each stat. Please go to the bottom of the post for a full list of all the articles and sources I’ve used here.

Travellerspoint

Most asked questions about Europe travel & tourism

How many tourists visit europe each year.

In 2019, Europe recorded 745 million international tourist arrivals.

The pandemic caused international tourism to plummet in Europe, but the number has recovered to 595 million arrivals in 2022.

Roughly 4 in 10 baby boomers state that Europe is their first choice for international travel.

How much of Europe's economy is tourism?

In 2022, travel and tourism contributed $1,939 billion to the overall GDP in Europe.

This is an increase from the $1,450 billion contribution in 2021, but not yet recovered to its pre-pandemic levels.

Which country in Europe has the most tourism?

With 89.4 million international tourist arrivals in 2019 and 79.4 million in 2022, France is the most popular place to visit in Europe .

Both before and after the pandemic, France remains the most visited country in Europe.

What percentage of Europeans travel?

In 2021, 56% of Europeans participated in tourism in 2021, compared with 65% in 2019.

What's the least visited country in Europe?

According to Eurostat, Luxembourg was the least visited country in Europe by EU residents in 2019.

Europe Travel & Tourism Key Statistics

• Europe at large (both EU and non-EU) remains the most visited region in the world, accounting for 50% of the world’s tourist arrivals
• In 2022, travel and tourism contributed $1,939 billion to the overall GDP in Europe
• 61% of all international arrivals to the EU in 61% were for recreational purposes
• In 2020, the tourism industry generated, directly and indirectly, 34.76 million jobs
• In 2017, there were more female (59%) than male employees in the tourism industry
• In 2019, there were 717 thousand travel accommodation establishments in EU countries, which is a 69% increase from 2006
• In 2019, EU residents made 1.1 billion trips that included overnight stays
• Due to the Coronavirus pandemic, international arrivals in Europe plummeted from over 746 million in 2019 to just about 236 million in 2020

Inbound tourism in Europe

How many tourists visit Europe annually?

1. In 2019, Europe recorded 745 million international tourist arrivals.

[Statista] 

Europe receives the highest number of international arrivals compared to other regions, including Americas, Asia Pacific, Middle East, and Africa.

2. The pandemic caused international tourism to plummet in Europe, but the number has recovered to 595 million arrivals in 2022.

In comparison, the Americas received 150 million international tourist arrivals in 2022, only 25% of Europe.

3. In July 2023, there were 89.8 million monthly international arrivals in Europe, roughly 7% lower than in July 2019.

This has exceeded the monthly levels of July 2020, 2021, and 2022, but yet to recover to pre-pandemic levels.

4. 6 of the top 10 most visited destinations by international tourist arrivals worldwide are located in Europe.

[Wikipedia]

This includes France, Spain, Italy, Turkey, Germany, and the United Kingdom in that order.

5. There were 36.4 million outbound trips from the US to Europe in 2019.

In 2019, there were 36.4 million trips from the US to Europe .

6. About 33% of these trips from the US were made to destinations in Western Europe.

11.9 million, or 33%, of these trips were to Western Europe. Central or Eastern Europe received the least number of outbound trips from the US at 4.3 million arrivals in 2019.

7. Europe at large (both EU and non-EU) remains the most visited region in the world, accounting for 50% of the world’s tourist arrivals.

Domestic tourism in europe.

How popular is Europe among domestic tourists?

8. In 2019, there were 682 million domestic arrivals in EU countries.

Domestic tourism continues to be more popular as this number steadily grows from only 491 million in 2008 to 682 million in 2019.

9. There were 187 million overnight trips in Europe made by French residents in 2019 alone.

Out of all EU countries, French residents have been the most active in domestic tourism in Europe. 

10. Germany is close behind as its residents made roughly 161 million domestic trips in 2019.

Domestic trips include both personal and professional purposes.

11. An April 2023 survey showed that French respondents were the most likely to take a domestic summer holiday trip. 

12. As of September 2023, the preferred destination among European travelers for their next European trip is France, with 7% of respondents planning to visit France on their next trip within Europe. 

After France, Italy and Spain followed in the ranking.

13. A survey in September 2023 revealed that 68% of respondents intended to likely or very likely take an overnight trip domestically or in Europe in the following six months. 

This percentage was a slight decrease from a similar study in March 2023, when 72% reported the same.

14. In 2022, the expenditure of domestic tourists in Europe was 1.13 trillion U.S. dollars just 0.5% lower than that in 2019.

15. in terms of domestic tourism expenditure of the eu-27 countries and the uk, germany had the highest figure in 2019 (320.9 billion u.s. dollars) and 2022 (317 billion u.s. dollars)., europe tourism and the economy.

How much revenue does Europe’s tourism generate?

16. In 2021, travel and tourism contributed $1,450 billion to the overall GDP in Europe.

From 2012 to 2019, the travel industry has steadily contributed an increasing amount of GDP in Europe, peaking at $2,191 billion in 2019.

17. Domestic tourism expenditure reached a record high of $1,222 billion in 2019.

Domestic travellers are important in Europe’s tourism industry as they spent $1,222 billion in 2019 alone, which is the highest number in recent recorded history.

18. In 2019, Spain was the second top tourism earner after the US, recording $79.7 billion in international tourism receipts.

Spain is the second country in the world that makes the most money from tourism. It recorded $79.7 billion in international tourism receipts in 2019.

19. France follows closely behind making $63.8 in international tourism receipts.

Why people travel to europe.

What motivates people to visit Europe?

20. 61% of all international arrivals to the EU in are for recreational purposes.

Holiday, recreation, and other leisure-related purposes are the most common reason for visiting Europe.

21. In the meantime, 15% visited EU countries for business reasons and 24% came to visit friends and relatives or other purposes.

Business travel makes up 15% of all visits to the EU .

22 Most international visitors arrive in Europe by air travel (57%), compared to 40% for land transport and only 4% by water.

Over half of all global visitors to Europe come through flights, while 2 out of 5 visitors arrive by land transport. Only 4% travel by water to Europe.

23. 62% of all residents in the EU went on a minimum of one personal trip in 2017.

In terms of domestic tourism in Europe, 3 out of every 5 EU residents took at least one personal trip back in 2017.

24. 11% of domestic trips to Europe in 2015 were for professional purposes, including business trips.

11% of all domestic trips in Europe in 2015 were made for professional reasons, such as business trips.

25. The European hotel market generated a revenue of 98.09 billion U.S. dollars in 2022, a significant improvement from 2020 and 2021.

26. the european region with the highest revenue in the hotel market in 2022 was central & western europe was, generating more than 61 billion u.s. dollars. .

The region with the second-highest revenue in the hotel market in 2022 was Southern Europe.

Tourism employment in Europe

How large is Europe’s tourism workforce?

27. In 2020, the tourism industry generated, directly and indirectly, 34.76 million jobs.

In 2022, there’s still a 8.5% decrease in tourism jobs in Europe compared to 2019 due to the Covid-19 pandemic .

28. Travel and tourism provided 37.98 million jobs in Europe in 2019.

29. in 2017, there were more female (59%) than male employees in the tourism industry..

The tourism industry has long been a major employer for women , especially considering that only 36% of employees in non-financial business economies in Europe were female.

30. The tourism labour force also tends to attract younger workers aged 15 to 24 (13%) and part-time positions (24%).

These statistics are much higher than those in the non-financial business economies and services sectors as a whole.

Popular tourist destinations in Europe

What are the most popular tourist destinations in Europe?

31. With 89.4 million international tourist arrivals in 2019 and 79.4 million in 2022, France is the most popular place to visit in Europe.

France, Spain (83.5 million), and Italy (64.5 million) recorded the most international tourist arrivals in 2019. The ranking changed slightly in 2020, with Italy receiving more international tourists than Spain.

Moreover, European travellers comprise 39.3% of the total tourist arrivals in Venice .

32. The capital city, Paris, welcomed more than 16.8 million international visitors in 2018, making it the second most visited European city after London.

Paris received over 16.8 million international visitors in 2018 and was the second most visited city in Europe.

It is second only to London, which receives the highest number of tourists that year .

33. In terms of bed nights, Spain is the most popular among international tourists, with 299 million nights spent in tourist accommodations in 2019 alone.

This number accounts to 22% of the total nights spent in tourist accommodations in Europe.

34. After Spain, Italy is the second most popular tourist destination for overnight stays in Europe. There were 221 million nights spent here in 2019.

When it comes to cities in Europe with the most overnight stays in 2019, Italy sits on the second place.

35. This is followed by France (136 million nights) and Greece (120 million nights).

36. all together, spain, italy, france, and greece dominate 57% of the total nights spent by international tourists in european tourist accommodations..

Spain, Italy, France, and Greece are the four most popular tourist destinations in Europe in terms of night spent in a tourist accommodation.

In fact, travellers from Europe make up the majority of overseas tourist arrivals in Rome (2.78 million) .

37. Meanwhile, the least popular EU destinations for tourists in 2019 were Luxembourg, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia.

38. in terms of region, international arrivals in southern/mediterranean europe has surpassed pre-pandemic levels in july 2023, while central/eastern europe experienced a 30% drop., accommodation in europe’s travel industry.

Where do tourists usually stay when visiting Europe?

39. In 2022, there were 621 thousand travel accommodation establishments in EU countries, a slight increase from the 617 thousand recorded in 2019.

The 621 thousand travel accommodations include RV campgrounds , hotels, short-stay accommodation, and trailer parks.

40. As of 2019, a majority of these (more than 479 thousand) were holiday and other short-stay accommodations, while 209 thousand were hotels and similar accommodation types.

The most common type of tourist accommodation in Europe is holiday/ short-stay vacation rentals .

41. In 2019, it was estimated that residents and international visitors spent a total of 2.87 billion nights in EU travel accommodation.

In 2019 alone, tourists in EU countries spent a total of 3.42 billion nights in accommodation establishments.

For budget travel, Kyiv is the cheapest city destination for backpacking, with daily costs amounting to an average of $37.69 .

42. In 2022, the number still has yet to reach its pre-pandemic figure, at just 2.74 billion nights spent in EU travel accommodations.

43. In 2019, Italy recorded just shy of 1.1 million bedrooms in hotels and similar accommodation. This is the highest in any country in Europe.

At 1.1 million individual hotel and similar rooms , Italy is the country in Europe with the highest number of bedrooms.

44. Germany and Spain are close behind with 993 and 934 million bedrooms respectively.

45. in terms of occupancy rate of bed places in hotels and other similar accommodation in eu countries, cyprus leads the chart with 71.8% of net occupancy rate..

Hotels and similar accommodation types in Cyprus recorded an astounding 71.8% net occupancy rate, the highest in any one country in EU countries.

46. Interestingly, despite having the second most hotel bedrooms in Europe, Germany had a pretty low occupancy rate of 45.7% in 2019.

47. in 2021, europe became the region with the highest glamping market worldwide, with 35.11% of market share..

[Grand Review Research]

Glamping is an up-and-coming industry and Europe seems to be the leading world region in terms of market share (35.11%) .

48. In 2022, most hotel market sales in Europe were made online (77%), which represents a steady growth since 2017 and is expected to continue until 2027.

Online booking has an increasingly large role in hotel market sales in Europe, with 77% of sales in 2022 made online .

49. There are 1.4 million Airbnb Hosts in the EU, the highest number in any region in the world.

Out of the 1.4 million Airbnb Hosts in the EU , more than 1.1 million have just one listing.

50. The average EU Host on Airbnb earned just below €4,000 in 2022, which is equivalent to over two months additional pay for the median EU household.

Outbound tourism by europeans.

How many European tourists go on a trip each year?

51. Almost two out of every three Europeans went on a tourism trip in 2019, but the percentage decreased to 56% in 2021.

52. in 2021 compared with 2019, 14 % or 35 million fewer europeans made tourism trips., 53. around 70% of these trips were made within their own country..

In 2021, nearly 7 out of 10 European tourists made only domestic trips.

54. In terms of night spent, Spain and Italy were the most popular destinations for European tourists.

The most popular destinations for tourists from Europe are Spain and Italy, where they spent the highest number of nights in 2019.

55. For non-EU destinations, the United Kingdom, Turkey and the USA had been the top choices.

56. eu residents spent an average of €421 per trip in 2019..

The average EU resident would spend €421 per trip.

57. In 2019, EU residents made 1.1 billion trips that included overnight stays.

EU residents went on a total of 1.1 billion trips which included overnight stays to both domestic and international locations in 2019 alone.

58. The contribution of travel and tourism to Europe’s GDP fell significantly in 2020, from $2,191 billion, to roughly 50% of the number in 2019.

The average European solo traveler spends €285 for their flight and hotel .

59. The EU country that travels the most is Switzerland, with 82.2% of the population travelling in 2021.

Sweden is on fifth place, with 78% of its population participating in tourism in 2021.

Meanwhile, Ireland takes 8th place with 72.3% of the population travelling in 2021 .

60. On the other end of the spectrum, the country that participated the least in tourism in 2021 is Bulgaria (22.7% of population).

61. residents aged 65 or over represented 25% of the eu population aged 15 years or older, they accounted for only 17% of eu tourists..

Still, this 17% equals to a significant number of 36 million tourists.

Covid-19 and Europe’s tourism

How has the pandemic affected travel & tourism in Europe?

62. The contribution of travel and tourism to Europe’s GDP fell significantly in 2020, from $2,191 billion, to roughly 50% of the number in 2019.

Due to the recent pandemic, the total contribution from the travel and tourism industry to GDP in Europe decreased dramatically in 2020 from 2019.

63. Domestic tourism also fell from $1,167 billion in 2019 to $668 billion in 2020.

Domestic tourism expenditure in Europe decreased by roughly 43 percent in 2020 over the previous year, due to the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

64. International arrivals in Europe plummeted from over 746 million in 2019 to just about 236 million in 2020.

65. the number of international tourist arrivals dropped by 97% in april 2020 compared to april 2019. .

Travel to and from countries was restricted as the virus spread, resulting in a sharp drop in arrivals across the region.

66. In May 2021, international tourist arrivals have more than quadrupled since the same month in 2020.

However, this figure of 12.1 million arrivals is still much below the 64.2 million from May 2019.

Travel companies in Europe statistics

67. the 'package holidays' segment of the travel and tourism market in europe is expected to achieve a +1.66% growth in number of users between 2023 and 2027, reaching a record-high of 134.52 million users., 68. as of june 2023, oriental land co. ltd is the travel and leisure company with the largest market cap in europe, valued at 54.83 billion u.s. dollars..

Flutter Entertainment PLC and Evolution AB followed, each with a market capitalisation of roughly 27.76 billion U.S. dollars.

69. In Europe, Lufthansa became the airline which carried the highest number of travelers in 2022, with 101.8 million passengers in total.

Turkish Airlines was in second place, with a total of 71.8 million passengers in 2022.

As home to some of the world’s most popular tourist destinations, it will not be a surprise if tourism in this region only grows from now on.

While the recent Coronavirus pandemic has caused some major setbacks in terms of GDP and tourist arrivals in these countries, it does seem that things are looking brighter.

Once the world has recovered even more from this trying time, we believe that people looking for a getaway will look to visit various European destinations. As such, the number of domestic and international visitors will surely rise again soon.

We hope this post is thorough enough for you to learn more about tourism in Europe.

Can you think of other questions or aspects of Europe’s travel and tourism that we haven’t covered? Feel free to comment below!

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Tourism in Europe

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Tourism in Europe is big business. But why is this industry so important and what does it all mean? Read on to find out…

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European Tourism 2023 – Trends & Prospects (Q2/2023)

Publication date: Jul 2023

BUOYANT TRAVEL ENTHUSIASM WILL DRIVE EUROPEAN TOURISM RECOVERY THIS SUMMER, DESPITE ECONOMIC WOES SLOWING 2023 GROWTH PROSPECTS

In the first quarter of 2023, Europe has recovered to about 95% of 2019 levels of international tourist arrivals based on data from reporting destinations. Strong travel enthusiasm has supported this recovery despite stubborn inflation and higher living costs straining consumers’ wallets. Before the peak season, sunseekers will make no concessions on travel and price sensitivity will continue to benefit destinations offering more value for money.

Europe’s tourism will most probably have to navigate the travel disruptions experienced last summer in terms of short-staffed airports and accommodation establishments, and soaring travel costs. Nevertheless, the EU has also demonstrated some economic resilience so far in 2023 with lower energy prices, encouraging employment rates, and gradually receding inflation1. However, risks to the tourism outlook remain and are notably stemming from stubbornly high core inflation and uncertainty around the impact of Russia’s war in Ukraine.

One in four reporting destinations surpassed pre-pandemic levels of foreign tourist arrivals, including value for money destinations such as Serbia (+27%), Bulgaria (+21%), Montenegro (+12%) and Türkiye (+9%).

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Tourism Revenues | Europe

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Planning to Visit Barcelona or Dubrovnik? It’s Going to Cost You.

Driven by the climate crisis, the post-pandemic surge in visitors and a growing interest in making tourism work for local communities, European cities are finding new ways to tax visitors.

By Paige McClanahan

When Hester Van Buren, a deputy mayor of Amsterdam, recently proposed a 1 percentage point increase to the city’s tourist accommodation tax — which is already among the highest in Europe — her City Council colleagues responded with a single criticism: They wanted the increase to be even bigger.

“We have a lot of costs for the city, of course — for well-being, for livability,” Ms. Van Buren said in a recent interview at Amsterdam’s City Hall. “We don’t want to increase the taxes for our inhabitants. So we said, ‘Well, let the visitors pay some more.’”

Across Europe, many of Ms. Van Buren’s counterparts are having similar thoughts. After several years of steady growth in urban tourism leading up to the pandemic, many European cities have found new ways to tax visitors, who are at once an important source of revenue and — in some cases — a cause of headaches for residents.

And while there’s little evidence that tourist taxes do much to dampen visitor demand, the measures can raise significant funds for street cleaning, roadwork and other urban improvements that benefit visitors and locals alike.

Amid growing concerns about the negative impacts of tourist crowds, the revenue generated from tourism taxes can help to ensure that this important slice of many European economies maintains its social license to operate.

“The big question that’s on the mind of many local communities is ‘How can we capture the value of tourism?’” said Peter Rømer Hansen, a founding partner and the chief strategist at Group NAO, a Copenhagen-based tourism consulting agency. “Back in the day, it used to be that tourism was tax-free. Now it’s like, ‘No it’s not — you should tax tourism to capture some of that value to add to the community.’ It’s a paradigm shift.”

The tourism ‘zeitgeist’

Tourism taxes are now widespread in Europe: Of the 30 nations surveyed in a 2020 report , of which Mr. Hansen was the lead author, 21 had taxes on tourist accommodations, usually in the range of .50 to 3 euros (about 55 cents to $3.30) per person per night. (In the United States, most states impose single-digit-percentage taxes on accommodations, but this varies widely — from zero tax on lodging in Alaska and California to a 15 percent hotel tax in Connecticut.)

Nations in southern and western Europe, where tourism tends to represent a larger share of the national economies, are more likely to have tourism taxes, Mr. Hansen said. But he expects northern European countries will soon impose similar levies, driven by factors like the climate crisis, the post-pandemic tourism surge and a growing interest in making tourism work for local communities.

“It’s part of this zeitgeist that we need to be more conscious and take better care of our local environment,” Mr. Hansen said.

In line with that trend, some European destinations that have long imposed tourism taxes have begun to increase their rates or impose additional levies.

Last year, the Barcelona City Council began imposing a “city surcharge” on visitors, over and above the accommodation tax (from €1 to €3.50 per night), which the government of Catalonia established in 2012. Barcelona’s new charge — which applies both to tourist stays and cruise visitors — is scheduled to rise to €3.25 from €2.75 on April 1 next year, said Jordi Valls, the City Council’s deputy mayor for tourism. This year’s surcharge is expected to generate €52 million, money that will be set aside for spending on public spaces and environmental protection, and to pay for the enforcement of laws regulating tourist rentals , among other activities.

It’s a similar story in the Croatian city of Dubrovnik — which, according to one index, had the highest ratio of tourists to residents of any European city in 2019. Dubrovnik has long imposed an accommodation tax, which now stands at €2.65 per person per night from April through September, dropping to €1.86 the rest of the year. But in 2019, the government announced a tax on cruise ships as well, after what the city’s mayor, Mato Frankovic, called “a very hectic situation.”

“The question from many of our inhabitants was, ‘What do we get from those cruise ships? They are not paying anything to the city of Dubrovnik,’” Mr. Frankovic said, adding that the cruise tax, which took effect in 2021, is expected to raise €750,000 this year, funds that will be spent to improve roads in the city. The mayor described the cruise tax as “a win-win.”

“The cruise companies and the cruise guests know where the money they pay is actually invested,” Mr. Frankovic said, “and the citizens of Dubrovnik clearly see the benefit of the cruise business.”

Sharing the costs of running a city

In Amsterdam, where tourist taxes are expected to generate €185 million this year, such benefits are perhaps even more evident. The city imposes two taxes: an accommodation tax, which has been in place since 1973, as well as a cruise tax, which was introduced in 2019. (The City Council recently adopted a proposal to ban cruise ships from Amsterdam’s ports. However, the measure isn’t expected to take effect until next year, at the earliest.)

The funds raised from both taxes are used to improve public spaces in parts of the city that attract few tourists, said Ms. Van Buren. In that way, she added, the tax ensures that people across Amsterdam enjoy the fruits of tourism.

Amsterdam’s accommodation tax now stands at 7 percent of the cost of accommodation for hotel stays, plus a flat fee of €3 per person per night. (Guests in short-term apartment rentals, which the city strictly regulates, pay a tax of 10 percent per night.) The City Council will meet in October to decide whether — and by how much — to increase the tax, which was most recently raised in 2018.

Ms. Van Buren believes there is support for an increase. She noted that Amsterdam residents paid €172 million just for trash collection and street cleaning last year, including in areas popular with tourists. It’s only fair, she said, to ask visitors to share the costs of keeping the city functioning.

She described the city’s tourism taxes as part of a package of measures intended to limit tourism growth in Amsterdam, which stopped marketing itself as a destination several years before the pandemic. But Ms. Van Buren acknowledged that the accommodation tax appeared to have only a slight dampening effect on visitor interest, a conclusion supported by Mr. Hansen’s 2020 report.

That doesn’t mean that taxes aren’t helping to shape tourism in the city. The extra charge of €3 per night was intended to ensure the measure would be felt by Amsterdam’s cheap hotels and the low-budget tourists who frequent them, Ms. Van Buren said, adding that such visitors, who often come for bachelor parties and the like, bring “a lot of problems.”

On that front, it seems the measure is having the desired effect. Henriette Zwart, the owner of Hotel Koffiehuis Voyagers, a lower-budget accommodation option in Amsterdam’s historic center, said the tourist tax had forced her to renovate so she could charge enough to cover her operating costs. She used to charge €100 per night for a room that could sleep three or four people, but when her hotel reopens after renovations in October, she will charge €200 for a room that can sleep only two.

“We look at the prices in this area, and everybody’s got high prices like that,” Ms. Zwart said.

“They don’t want the low-value tourist. They want the upper-class tourists, which is pretty discriminative,” she said of the city leaders. “If you have a low cost per person and a high tourist tax, then it’s almost not even motivating to run a business like that.”

More taxes coming

Other major European tourist destinations, including Edinburgh, are considering new visitor charges.

This year, Manchester became the first British city to adopt a visitor fee when local hotel owners collectively began to impose an additional charge of 1 pound (roughly $1.27) per person per night. British cities don’t have the power to create the kinds of taxes that Amsterdam and Barcelona have introduced, said Bev Craig, the leader of Manchester City Council, so businesses introduced the charge themselves, with the support of local government.

The resulting funds will be used to clean the streets, run targeted tourism campaigns and prepare bids for major events that will attract even more tourists to Manchester, said Ms. Craig, who added that tourism has become a major employer.

“We think about the role tourism has in our city — be it for football, culture or history — and actually we want to grow that,” Ms. Craig said.

It’s a different story in St. Ives, a picturesque English coastal town that has been attracting tourists for more than a century. But growing crowds of visitors have begun to strain the town’s services and the patience of its residents, said Johnnie Wells, the mayor. Mr. Wells noted that St. Ives spends nearly one-fifth of its annual budget — about £200,000 — just on cleaning the town’s eight public toilet facilities, which visitors use much more than locals.

Facing the same taxing constraints as Manchester, the local council has decided to charge visitors 40 pence to use the toilets. Local leaders are also considering a “community charge” similar to the visitor charge imposed in Manchester.

Mr. Wells stressed that tourism is a huge part of the economy of Cornwall, the southwestern English county that is home to St. Ives and dozens of other popular seaside communities. The area used to rely on mining and fishing, but as those industries have fallen away, tourism has become an increasingly important source of jobs and income.

“People always moan about the holiday industry, but it’s what we Cornish folk do,” Mr. Wells said, adding that residents’ frustration with tourists “is becoming an issue.” But he thinks a visitor charge, if they can pull it off, would be a positive step.

“If locals can feel that their town is being improved because the tourists are coming, it’s going to help bridge that gap and create a bit better feeling between the two,” he said.

Paige McClanahan, a regular contributor to the Travel section, is writing a book about the tourism industry.

Follow New York Times Travel on Instagram and sign up for our weekly Travel Dispatch newsletter to get expert tips on traveling smarter and inspiration for your next vacation. Dreaming up a future getaway or just armchair traveling? Check out our 52 Places to Go in 2023 .

An earlier version of this article misstated the amount of a proposed increase to Amsterdam’s tourist accommodation tax. The proposal was for a 1 percentage point increase, not a 1 percent increase.

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• Travel, Tourism & Hospitality ›
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• Revenue of travel and tourism market in selected countries worldwide 2023

Travel and tourism market revenue in selected countries worldwide in 2023 (in billion U.S. dollars)

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Definition:

The Travel & Tourism market encompasses a diverse range of accommodation services catering to the needs and preferences of travelers. This dynamic market includes package holidays, hotel accommodations, private vacation rentals, camping experiences, and cruises.

The market consists of five further markets.

• The Cruises market covers multi-day vacation trips on a cruise ship. The Cruises market encompasses exclusively passenger ticket revenues.
• The Vacation Rentals market comprises of private accommodation bookings which includes private holiday homes and houses as well as short-term rental of private rooms or flats.
• The Hotels market includes stays in hotels and professionally run guest houses.
• The Package Holidays market comprises of travel deals that normally contain travel and accommodation sold for one price, although optional further provisions can be included such as catering and tourist services.
• The Camping market includes bookings at camping sites for pitches using tents, campervans, or trailers. These can be associated with big chains or privately managed campsites.

Additional Information:

The main performance indicators of the Travel & Tourism market are revenues, average revenue per user (ARPU), users and user penetration rates. Additionally, online and offline sales channel shares display the distribution of online and offline bookings. The ARPU refers to the average revenue one user generates per year while the revenue represents the total booking volume. Revenues are generated through both online and offline sales channels and include exclusively B2C revenues and users for the above-mentioned markets. Users represent the aggregated number of guests. Each user is only counted once per year. Additional definitions for each market can be found within the respective market pages.

The booking volume includes all booked travels made by users from the selected region, independent of the departure and arrival. The scope includes domestic and outbound travel.

Prominent players in this sector include online travel agencies (OTAs) like Expedia and Opodo, as well as tour operators such as TUI. Specialized platforms like Hotels.com, Booking.com, and Airbnb facilitate the online booking of hotels and private accommodations, contributing significantly to the market's vibrancy.

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Other statistics on the topic Travel and tourism in Europe

Travel, Tourism & Hospitality

• European countries with the highest number of inbound tourist arrivals 2019-2022
• Number of international tourist arrivals worldwide 2005-2023, by region
• International tourist arrivals in Europe 2006-2023
• Outbound tourism visitor growth worldwide 2020-2025, by region

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Statistics on " Travel and tourism in Europe "

• International tourist arrivals worldwide 2019-2022, by subregion
• Travel and tourism's total contribution to GDP in Europe 2019-2022
• Distribution of travel and tourism expenditure in Europe 2019-2022, by type
• Distribution of travel and tourism expenditure in Europe 2019-2022, by tourist type
• Travel and tourism: share of GDP in the EU-27 and the UK 2019-2022, by country
• Travel and tourism's total contribution to employment in Europe 2019-2022
• Leading European countries in the Travel & Tourism Development Index 2021
• International tourist arrivals in Europe 2010-2022, by region
• Monthly number of inbound tourist arrivals in Europe 2019-2023
• Monthly change in tourist arrivals in Europe 2020-2023, by region
• Inbound tourism visitor growth in Europe 2020-2025, by region
• International tourist arrival growth in European countries 2019-2023
• International tourism spending in Europe 2019-2022
• Number of domestic tourist trips in EU-27 countries and the UK 2018-2021
• Number of domestic arrivals in tourist accommodation in the EU 2011-2022
• Domestic tourism spending in Europe 2019-2022
• Domestic tourism spending in EU-27 countries and the UK 2019-2022
• Share of Europeans planning to take a domestic summer trip 2023, by country
• Outbound visitor growth in Europe 2020-2025, by region
• Number of outbound trips from EU-27 countries and the UK 2018-2021
• European countries with the highest outbound tourism expenditure 2019-2022
• Travel intentions of Europeans in the next six months 2023, by destination
• Share of Europeans planning to travel domestically or in Europe 2023
• Europeans planning domestic or European trips in the next six months 2023, by age
• Europeans planning leisure domestic or European trips 2023, by trip type
• European travelers' favorite destinations for their next European trip 2023
• Number of tourist accommodation establishments in the EU 2012-2022
• Number of overnight stays in tourist accommodation establishments in the EU 2011-2022
• Hotel market revenue in Europe 2017-2028
• Hotel market revenue in Europe 2017-2028, by region
• Share of hotel market sales in Europe 2017-2028, by channel
• Market cap of leading online travel companies worldwide 2023
• Leading online travel companies worldwide 2022-2023, by EV/EBITDA
• Market capitalization of leading travel and leisure companies in Europe 2024
• Leading airlines in Europe based on passenger numbers 2022
• Travel and tourism revenue in Europe 2018-2028, by segment
• Number of users of package holidays in Europe 2019-2028
• Number of users of hotels in Europe 2019-2028
• Number of users of vacation rentals in Europe 2019-2028

Other statistics that may interest you Travel and tourism in Europe

• Basic Statistic Number of international tourist arrivals worldwide 2005-2023, by region
• Premium Statistic International tourist arrivals worldwide 2019-2022, by subregion
• Basic Statistic Travel and tourism's total contribution to GDP in Europe 2019-2022
• Basic Statistic Distribution of travel and tourism expenditure in Europe 2019-2022, by type
• Basic Statistic Distribution of travel and tourism expenditure in Europe 2019-2022, by tourist type
• Basic Statistic Travel and tourism: share of GDP in the EU-27 and the UK 2019-2022, by country
• Basic Statistic Travel and tourism's total contribution to employment in Europe 2019-2022
• Premium Statistic Leading European countries in the Travel & Tourism Development Index 2021

Inbound tourism

• Premium Statistic International tourist arrivals in Europe 2006-2023
• Premium Statistic International tourist arrivals in Europe 2010-2022, by region
• Premium Statistic European countries with the highest number of inbound tourist arrivals 2019-2022
• Basic Statistic Monthly number of inbound tourist arrivals in Europe 2019-2023
• Basic Statistic Monthly change in tourist arrivals in Europe 2020-2023, by region
• Premium Statistic Inbound tourism visitor growth in Europe 2020-2025, by region
• Premium Statistic International tourist arrival growth in European countries 2019-2023
• Basic Statistic International tourism spending in Europe 2019-2022

Domestic tourism

• Premium Statistic Number of domestic tourist trips in EU-27 countries and the UK 2018-2021
• Basic Statistic Number of domestic arrivals in tourist accommodation in the EU 2011-2022
• Basic Statistic Domestic tourism spending in Europe 2019-2022
• Basic Statistic Domestic tourism spending in EU-27 countries and the UK 2019-2022
• Premium Statistic Share of Europeans planning to take a domestic summer trip 2023, by country

Outbound tourism

• Premium Statistic Outbound tourism visitor growth worldwide 2020-2025, by region
• Premium Statistic Outbound visitor growth in Europe 2020-2025, by region
• Premium Statistic Number of outbound trips from EU-27 countries and the UK 2018-2021
• Premium Statistic European countries with the highest outbound tourism expenditure 2019-2022

European travelers

• Premium Statistic Travel intentions of Europeans in the next six months 2023, by destination
• Premium Statistic Share of Europeans planning to travel domestically or in Europe 2023
• Premium Statistic Europeans planning domestic or European trips in the next six months 2023, by age
• Premium Statistic Europeans planning leisure domestic or European trips 2023, by trip type
• Premium Statistic European travelers' favorite destinations for their next European trip 2023

Accommodation

• Basic Statistic Number of tourist accommodation establishments in the EU 2012-2022
• Basic Statistic Number of overnight stays in tourist accommodation establishments in the EU 2011-2022
• Premium Statistic Hotel market revenue in Europe 2017-2028
• Premium Statistic Hotel market revenue in Europe 2017-2028, by region
• Premium Statistic Share of hotel market sales in Europe 2017-2028, by channel

Travel companies

• Basic Statistic Market cap of leading online travel companies worldwide 2023
• Premium Statistic Leading online travel companies worldwide 2022-2023, by EV/EBITDA
• Premium Statistic Market capitalization of leading travel and leisure companies in Europe 2024
• Premium Statistic Leading airlines in Europe based on passenger numbers 2022
• Premium Statistic Travel and tourism revenue in Europe 2018-2028, by segment
• Premium Statistic Number of users of package holidays in Europe 2019-2028
• Premium Statistic Number of users of hotels in Europe 2019-2028
• Premium Statistic Number of users of vacation rentals in Europe 2019-2028
• Premium Statistic Revenue of travel and tourism market in selected countries worldwide 2023

Further related statistics

• Premium Statistic Penetration rate of flights in the UK 2019-2028
• Premium Statistic Revenue of the flights industry in Asia 2019-2028
• Premium Statistic Revenue of the car rentals industry in Switzerland 2019-2028
• Premium Statistic Online Ride Hailing market - Revenue forecast in Europe 2019 - 2028
• Premium Statistic Number of users of hotels in Asia 2019-2028
• Premium Statistic Number of users of ride-hailing & taxi in China 2019-2028
• Premium Statistic Number of users of car rentals in the UK 2019-2028
• Premium Statistic Revenue of the flights industry worldwide 2019-2028
• Premium Statistic Revenue of the car rentals industry in Europe 2019-2028
• Premium Statistic Revenue of the ride hailing industry worldwide 2019-2028
• Premium Statistic Number of users of hotels worldwide 2019-2028
• Premium Statistic Number of users of car rentals in the U.S. 2019-2028
• Premium Statistic Number of users of shared rides worldwide 2019-2028
• Premium Statistic Revenue per user of car rentals worldwide 2019-2028
• Premium Statistic Number of users of ride-hailing & taxi in Switzerland 2019-2028

Further Content: You might find this interesting as well

• Penetration rate of flights in the UK 2019-2028
• Revenue of the flights industry in Asia 2019-2028
• Revenue of the car rentals industry in Switzerland 2019-2028
• Online Ride Hailing market - Revenue forecast in Europe 2019 - 2028
• Number of users of hotels in Asia 2019-2028
• Number of users of ride-hailing & taxi in China 2019-2028
• Number of users of car rentals in the UK 2019-2028
• Revenue of the flights industry worldwide 2019-2028
• Revenue of the car rentals industry in Europe 2019-2028
• Revenue of the ride hailing industry worldwide 2019-2028
• Number of users of hotels worldwide 2019-2028
• Number of users of car rentals in the U.S. 2019-2028
• Number of users of shared rides worldwide 2019-2028
• Revenue per user of car rentals worldwide 2019-2028
• Number of users of ride-hailing & taxi in Switzerland 2019-2028