Italy can welcome 2025 European tourism figures with justified pride: the country retained second place in Europe for total overnight stays in tourist accommodation establishments, according to the latest data from Eurostat and ISTAT.
Behind Spain, which remains unassailable at the top, Italy not only solidified its position ahead of France and Germany but also posted growth rates above the EU average in key metrics.
Strong overall performance
In 2025, Italy recorded 476.9 million nights spent in hotels and other tourist accommodation, about 5 million more than rival France (471.7 million), and second only to Spain’s 513.6 million nights. Together with France and Germany (442.1 million), these four countries accounted for 61.7% of all overnight stays in the European Union.
Eurostat’s figures showed that total nights spent across the EU rose by 2.2% in 2025, reaching nearly 3.1 billion nights, the equivalent of 66.4 million more nights than in 2024. International nights increased by 3.4% (+49.7 million), while domestic nights rose by 1.1% (+16.7 million).
Italy’s growth in total nights (+2.3%) slightly outpaced the EU average (+2.2%), while nights by foreign visitors in Italy grew even faster than the European average: +4.3% in Italy compared with +3.4% across the EU.
This strong international performance also translated into 17.6% of all foreign overnight stays in the EU, making Italy the third‑largest destination for international tourism nights.
Domestic arrivals lag behind
Despite these encouraging results on overnight stays, Italy experienced a paradox: arrivals were down in 2025 compared with the previous year. Total arrivals dropped by ‑0.9%, driven mainly by weaker domestic tourism.
Domestic visitors saw arrivals shrink by ‑3.5%, even as domestic nights remained broadly stable year‑on‑year. Tourism analysts point to changing travel patterns, extended stays but fewer distinct trips, and broader economic pressures as possible reasons behind the drop in arrivals.
Spain remains the leader
While Italy’s position is strong, the gap with Spain remains sizeable.
In 2025, Spain not only maintained its lead in nights spent (513.6 million) but also posted historic records for international tourism. According to Spanish authorities, the country welcomed 96.77 million foreign tourists in 2025, up 3.2% from 2024, and saw overseas visitors spend a record €134.7 billion, an increase of 6.8% year‑on‑year.
The 2025 data showed European tourism growth across most EU countries, with 24 out of 27 member states reporting increases in overnight stays.
The largest gains were recorded in Malta (+10.1%) and Poland (+7.2%), while smaller markets such as Luxembourg (3.6 million nights), Latvia (5.0 million) and Estonia (6.7 million) remained at the lower end of the scale.
In the fourth quarter of 2025, overnight stays in the EU were up 3.0% compared with the same period in 2024, with notable increases in Ireland (+12.0%) and Malta (+10.9%). Declines were observed in Romania (‑4.6%) and Luxembourg (‑0.4%).
