Tourism in Europe is generating higher revenues, but not necessarily longer holidays. This is one of the key trends emerging from the latest European tourism figures, as travellers in several popular destinations appear to be spending more per day while shortening their stays.
The picture is particularly interesting for Greece. In July, travel receipts rose by 7.2% to €4.722 billion, even as inbound traveller numbers fell by 3.1%. The explanation lies in visitor spending: average expenditure per trip increased by 10%.
This is not an exclusively Greek development, however. Spain shows a similar pattern, while Malta and Croatia also report signs of shorter average stays. At the same time, short-term rentals and other forms of rented accommodation are growing in several European markets, reshaping the landscape for hotels, property owners and travellers.
Spain: Tourists spend more per day but stay for less time
August figures from Spain’s National Statistics Institute (INE) paint a revealing picture.
Spain welcomed 12.3 million international tourists, up 9.2% from August 2025. Total tourist expenditure also rose by 9.2%, reaching €17.838 billion.
Over the first eight months of the year, international arrivals reached 70.36 million, an increase of 5.4%, while expenditure totalled €99.892 billion, up 8%.
The most interesting detail, however, lies elsewhere.
Average daily expenditure in August reached €202, an increase of 1.9%. Meanwhile, the average length of stay fell by 1.9% to 7.2 days.
In other words, the average tourist spent more each day but stayed for less time.
Average expenditure per visitor remained broadly unchanged at around €1,455.
The pattern was even more pronounced among British visitors: their daily expenditure rose by 6.9%, while the average length of their trips fell by 7.9%.
Greece: Higher spending, with its own distinctive pattern
In Greece, the contrast between revenue and visitor numbers was particularly striking in July.
Travel receipts rose by 7.2% to €4.722 billion, despite a 3.1% decline in inbound traveller numbers.
Average expenditure per trip increased by 10%, allowing the Greek tourism economy to generate higher revenues without a corresponding increase in arrivals.
The picture for the first seven months was even more positive. From January to July, travel receipts reached €13.518 billion, up 12%, while inbound traveller numbers increased by 8.6% to approximately 20.04 million.
This development matters for the Greek market: tourism’s success no longer depends solely on whether arrivals increase, but also on how much each visitor spends at the destination.
The August figures are expected to provide a fuller picture, with the Bank of Greece scheduled to publish them on 22 October.
The competition for guests extends beyond hotels
At the same time, tourists’ accommodation choices are changing.
In Spain, the number of international tourists using rented homes rose by 13.7% in August, roughly twice the growth rate recorded among visitors staying in hotels, which stood at 6.6%.
The trend extends beyond Spain.
According to Eurostat, guests spent 258.8 million nights in accommodation booked through Airbnb, Booking and Expedia across the European Union in the second quarter of 2026, up 5.3% from a year earlier.
Compared with the second quarter of 2024, the increase reached 23.9%. This is a clear indication that alternative forms of accommodation now play a significant role in Europe’s tourism market.
It does not mean, however, that short-term rentals have displaced hotels. In Spain, for example, approximately 8.04 million international tourists used hotels as their main accommodation, compared with 1.57 million who used rented homes.
Balearic Islands: €243 a day and shorter holidays
The Spanish market offers another telling example.
In the Balearic Islands, average daily tourist expenditure reached €243 in August, up 10.1%. At the same time, the average length of trips fell by 7.7%.
In Andalusia, international arrivals increased by 21.3%, compared with 2.6% in the Balearic Islands and just 0.3% in the Canary Islands.
The figures show how significantly tourism trends can differ even within the same country.
Malta and Croatia: Arrivals grow faster than overnight stays
Malta offers another example of the shift towards shorter trips. In August, arrivals rose by 14.7% to 539,655, while overnight stays increased by 9.9%.
Arrivals therefore grew faster than overnight stays.
A similar picture emerged in Croatia. Tourist arrivals exceeded 5 million in August, up 2%, while overnight stays increased by just 0.5% to 31.4 million.
The gap between growth in arrivals and overnight stays is an important indicator of changes in average trip duration.
Italy bucks the trend
There is another side to the story, however. Italy does not support the picture of a Europe where holidays are getting shorter.
In August, foreign guest arrivals at accommodation establishments rose by 2.2%, while their overnight stays increased by 4.4%.
Overnight stays therefore grew faster than arrivals, pointing to a longer average stay. During June–August, accommodation establishments recorded approximately 72.4 million guest arrivals and more than 276 million overnight stays.
Italy provides an important counterpoint: rising tourism revenues do not necessarily go hand in hand with shorter holidays.
France: Growth does not always come from international visitors
France also presents a different picture.
International tourism revenues reached €40 billion in the first half of 2026, up 7%. Yet between May and August, overnight stays in accommodation establishments increased by just 1.1% to 260.5 million, with domestic travellers accounting for most of the growth.
Overnight stays by foreign visitors remained broadly unchanged.
Here, too, headline figures can create misleading impressions unless the underlying trends are examined.
The next challenge for European tourism
The 2026 figures point to a European tourism market that continues to grow while changing in character.
Arrivals are increasing in several destinations. Revenues are rising even faster. Daily expenditure is growing. In some markets, however, holidays are getting shorter, while short-term rentals are capturing a larger share of tourism demand.
Greece is part of this broader European shift. The rise in revenues despite falling arrivals in July shows that the next phase of Greek tourism will depend on more than how many visitors come to the country. It will also depend on how long they stay, how much they spend and where they choose to stay.
