75% OF TRIPS MADE BY EUROPEANS ARE DOMESTIC

In 2017, residents of the European Union made a total of 1.3 billion trips with overnight stays, amounting to almost 6.4 billion stays with an average duration of 5.1 nights according to Eurostat data, which also suggests that 75% of the trips made by Europeans were domestic.

The Spanish travelers lead the statistics as to the preference of domestic holiday. Only a quarter of the trips made by Europeans were international (27%), of which 21% were made to other EU countries, and 6% to destinations outside the European Union.

The most common means of transport used for their travels was the private vehicle (64%, cars mainly), followed by airplanes (17%), trains (11%), buses (6%) and vessels (2%). Airplanes served as the main means of transport for road trips (56%), while for domestic trips, EU residents traveled mainly by automobile (76%), followed by train (13%).

Most trips by plane were made for personal reasons (82%), while 18% were made for professional reasons. Almost half of all trips (49%) were for holidays and leisure, 35% to visit family and friends, 12% for business, and 4% for other reasons.

More than half of the 6.4 billion overnight stays for trips made by Europeans in 2017 were made in rental accommodations (55%). Hotels and other establishments that provide services such as daily cleaning account for 32%, while 6% stayed in campsites, and 17% in other types of rentals (such as apartments).