Credit: Statec
This year’s Tourism Survey has revealed that in 2016, European residents spent over €1 billion as a whole on travel, or €770 per person per trip.
The questions in this quarterly survey focus on trips that residents made during the last quarter, providing information on the travel habits of the population. The survey is conducted in all countries of the European Union.
In 2016, about 80% of residents took at least one leisure trip during the year, with 9 out of 10 choosing to travel within Europe. The three main motivations for travel were relaxation (or leisure), visiting family or friends and cultural interest.
The amount allocated to leisure travel has tripled since 1998, from €320 million to more than €1 billion. This increase is due to several reasons, namely the growth of the population, the increase of the share of travellers and the number of stays, greater use of airplanes and hotels and finally, inflation. The number of stays per person per year has increased from 2 to 3 in 20 years.
France remained the most frequent destination: 20 years ago, 51% of residents stayed there during the year. Today, the number has risen to 63%.
