2025 seasonality analysis

EU tourism seasonality: where accommodation nights were most concentrated in summer in 2025

Croatia recorded 69.62% of its 2025 tourist accommodation nights in June, July and August, the highest share among the 27 EU countries, followed by Greece (56.77%) and Bulgaria (56.73%). Malta had the lowest share, at 30.98%. Destination Finder analysis of saved Eurostat data compares complete calendar years to show how strongly accommodation nights are concentrated in summer.

Published
23 September 2026
Observation year
2025
Source retrieved
9 September 2026

How the metric works. Summer share measures the percentage of a country’s annual tourist accommodation nights that occurred in June, July and August. For example, Croatia’s 69.62% means that share of all tourist accommodation nights recorded in Croatia during the whole of 2025 fell in those three months. Formally: summer concentration of accommodation nights is 100 × (June + July + August accommodation nights) / January–December accommodation nights. These are overnight stays in covered tourist accommodation establishments, not unique tourists. The article is a fixed analysis and does not update with the live tracker.

Key findings

  1. Highest share

    Croatia · 69.62%

    Rank 1 of 27. August alone accounted for 28.17%, the highest peak-month share in the EU27.

  2. Next highest

    Greece and Bulgaria

    Greece recorded 56.77% and Bulgaria 56.73%, with only around 0.04 percentage points between them.

  3. Lowest share

    Malta · 30.98%

    Malta ranked 27th for the June–August share. This measure alone does not establish its overall seasonal pattern.

  4. Over time

    Two distinct comparisons

    The EU27 weighted share rose +0.35 pp from 2024. The matched 25-country share fell -1.12 pp from 2019.

Why 2025 gives the clearest picture of seasonality

2025 is the latest complete calendar year available for comparing tourism seasonality across all 27 EU countries. Using a full year allows June–August accommodation nights to be measured against the entire year, showing how strongly tourism is concentrated in summer rather than simply reflecting the latest monthly trend.

The full EU27 summer-concentration ranking for 2025

The ranking uses unrounded shares and covers all 27 EU countries. A higher position means a larger share of that country’s annual accommodation nights occurred in June–August; it does not measure visitor density, pressure, or economic reliance.

Share of each country’s 2025 tourist accommodation nights recorded in June–August

  1. 1.Croatia
    69.62%
  2. 2.Greece
    56.77%
  3. 3.Bulgaria
    56.73%
  4. 4.Slovenia
    46.52%
  5. 5.Italy
    46.37%
  6. 6.France
    46.08%
  7. 7.Sweden
    44.05%
  8. 8.Denmark
    43.52%
  9. 9.Luxembourg
    42.40%
  10. 10.Cyprus
    41.87%
  11. 11.Romania
    41.84%
  12. 12.Ireland
    40.65%
  13. 13.Latvia
    39.53%
  14. 14.Netherlands
    38.39%
  15. 15.Spain
    38.23%
  16. 16.Hungary
    37.78%
  17. 17.Poland
    36.77%
  18. 18.Estonia
    36.59%
  19. 19.Czechia
    36.54%
  20. 20.Belgium
    35.80%
  21. 21.Portugal
    35.77%
  22. 22.Slovakia
    35.03%
  23. 23.Germany
    34.44%
  24. 24.Finland
    34.10%
  25. 25.Austria
    33.69%
  26. 26.Lithuania
    33.61%
  27. 27.Malta
    30.98%

Dashed rule: EU27 weighted share, 42.16%. This is a weighted share, not an average country.

Countries are ordered by full-precision 2025 values. Croatia, Greece, Bulgaria and Malta are highlighted. The complete table below is the accessible data equivalent.
  1. 1.Croatia

    69.62%

    Peak month
    August · 28.17%
    2024
    69.25% · +0.36 pp
    2019 eligible
    72.67%
    2025 vs 2019
    -3.05 pp
  2. 2.Greece

    56.77%

    Peak month
    August · 21.72%
    2024
    56.71% · +0.06 pp
    2019 eligible
    56.82%
    2025 vs 2019
    -0.05 pp
  3. 3.Bulgaria

    56.73%

    Peak month
    August · 22.29%
    2024
    57.23% · -0.50 pp
    2019 eligible
    n/a
    2025 vs 2019
    n/a
  4. 4.Slovenia

    46.52%

    Peak month
    August · 18.73%
    2024
    46.23% · +0.29 pp
    2019 eligible
    45.16%
    2025 vs 2019
    +1.36 pp
  5. 5.Italy

    46.37%

    Peak month
    August · 17.86%
    2024
    46.06% · +0.32 pp
    2019 eligible
    48.91%
    2025 vs 2019
    -2.54 pp
  6. 6.France

    46.08%

    Peak month
    August · 19.34%
    2024
    45.28% · +0.80 pp
    2019 eligible
    47.32%
    2025 vs 2019
    -1.25 pp
  7. 7.Sweden

    44.05%

    Peak month
    July · 19.78%
    2024
    44.23% · -0.18 pp
    2019 eligible
    44.84%
    2025 vs 2019
    -0.79 pp
  8. 8.Denmark

    43.52%

    Peak month
    July · 17.89%
    2024
    43.41% · +0.11 pp
    2019 eligible
    46.09%
    2025 vs 2019
    -2.57 pp
  9. 9.Luxembourg

    42.40%

    Peak month
    July · 15.81%
    2024
    43.21% · -0.81 pp
    2019 eligible
    41.10%
    2025 vs 2019
    +1.29 pp
  10. 10.Cyprus

    41.87%

    Peak month
    August · 15.79%
    2024
    42.39% · -0.51 pp
    2019 eligible
    42.42%
    2025 vs 2019
    -0.54 pp
  11. 11.Romania

    41.84%

    Peak month
    August · 17.24%
    2024
    42.52% · -0.68 pp
    2019 eligible
    41.71%
    2025 vs 2019
    +0.13 pp
  12. 12.Ireland

    40.65%

    Peak month
    August · 15.18%
    2024
    40.35% · +0.30 pp
    2019 eligible
    n/a
    2025 vs 2019
    n/a

    2024 comparison includes Eurostat low-reliability observations (u)

  13. 13.Latvia

    39.53%

    Peak month
    July · 14.91%
    2024
    40.68% · -1.15 pp
    2019 eligible
    38.36%
    2025 vs 2019
    +1.18 pp
  14. 14.Netherlands

    38.39%

    Peak month
    August · 15.41%
    2024
    37.17% · +1.22 pp
    2019 eligible
    39.18%
    2025 vs 2019
    -0.78 pp
  15. 15.Spain

    38.23%

    Peak month
    August · 14.56%
    2024
    37.92% · +0.30 pp
    2019 eligible
    39.48%
    2025 vs 2019
    -1.26 pp
  16. 16.Hungary

    37.78%

    Peak month
    August · 14.69%
    2024
    38.58% · -0.79 pp
    2019 eligible
    40.37%
    2025 vs 2019
    -2.58 pp
  17. 17.Poland

    36.77%

    Peak month
    August · 13.90%
    2024
    37.27% · -0.50 pp
    2019 eligible
    38.57%
    2025 vs 2019
    -1.80 pp
  18. 18.Estonia

    36.59%

    Peak month
    July · 13.88%
    2024
    37.24% · -0.64 pp
    2019 eligible
    37.74%
    2025 vs 2019
    -1.14 pp
  19. 19.Czechia

    36.54%

    Peak month
    August · 13.85%
    2024
    37.60% · -1.06 pp
    2019 eligible
    37.25%
    2025 vs 2019
    -0.71 pp
  20. 20.Belgium

    35.80%

    Peak month
    July · 13.56%
    2024
    35.57% · +0.23 pp
    2019 eligible
    36.35%
    2025 vs 2019
    -0.55 pp
  21. 21.Portugal

    35.77%

    Peak month
    August · 14.11%
    2024
    35.74% · +0.03 pp
    2019 eligible
    37.59%
    2025 vs 2019
    -1.82 pp
  22. 22.Slovakia

    35.03%

    Peak month
    August · 13.77%
    2024
    35.86% · -0.83 pp
    2019 eligible
    36.02%
    2025 vs 2019
    -0.99 pp
  23. 23.Germany

    34.44%

    Peak month
    August · 12.38%
    2024
    34.21% · +0.22 pp
    2019 eligible
    34.78%
    2025 vs 2019
    -0.35 pp
  24. 24.Finland

    34.10%

    Peak month
    July · 13.97%
    2024
    34.43% · -0.33 pp
    2019 eligible
    34.48%
    2025 vs 2019
    -0.38 pp
  25. 25.Austria

    33.69%

    Peak month
    August · 13.32%
    2024
    33.39% · +0.30 pp
    2019 eligible
    33.83%
    2025 vs 2019
    -0.14 pp
  26. 26.Lithuania

    33.61%

    Peak month
    July · 12.90%
    2024
    38.69% · -5.08 pp
    2019 eligible
    39.30%
    2025 vs 2019
    -5.69 pp

    Unusually large observed change; national coverage and comparability should be checked before interpretation.

  27. 27.Malta

    30.98%

    Peak month
    August · 11.27%
    2024
    32.02% · -1.04 pp
    2019 eligible
    32.68%
    2025 vs 2019
    -1.70 pp

Croatia, Greece and Bulgaria have the highest summer shares

Croatia’s 69.62% share was almost 13 percentage points above Greece and Bulgaria. August was the peak month in all three countries. Croatia’s August total represented 28.17% of its annual nights, the largest single peak-month share in the EU27. These figures describe the timing of recorded nights; they do not explain why the distributions differ.

Malta has the lowest June–August share

Malta recorded 30.98% of annual accommodation nights during June–August, ranking 27th. Its peak month was August, accounting for 11.27% of the annual total. A three-month share does not capture every dimension of seasonality, so this result should not be treated as a definitive classification of Malta’s full-year tourism pattern.

How summer concentration changed

The EU27 comparison: 2025 versus 2024

Across all 27 countries combined, the weighted June–August share moved from 41.81% in 2024 to 42.16% in 2025, a change of +0.35 pp. The Netherlands recorded the largest country increase, from 37.17% to 38.39% (+1.22 pp).

Ireland remains in this complete comparison, but its July–September 2024 TOTAL observations carry Eurostat “u” low-reliability flags. Ireland’s 2025 ranking is not flagged.

The matched 25-country comparison: 2025 versus 2019

Among the same 25 eligible countries in both years, the weighted share moved from 43.17% in 2019 to 42.05% in 2025, a change of -1.12 pp. Summer accounted for a smaller share of annual tourist accommodation nights in 21 of the 25 comparable EU countries in 2025 than in 2019. This is a matched 25-country panel, not an EU27 comparison: Bulgaria and Ireland are excluded because a complete eligible 2019 year is unavailable.

Croatia moved from 72.67% to 69.62% (-3.05 pp), while Slovenia moved from 45.16% to 46.52% (+1.36 pp). Sweden’s 2025 peak was July, accounting for 19.78% of annual nights.

Interpreting the Lithuania result

Lithuania recorded 33.61% in 2025, compared with 38.69% in 2024 and 39.30% in 2019. The resulting changes — -5.08 pp and -5.69 pp — are unusually large and require a national coverage and comparability check before interpretation. Lithuania remains in the complete tables for transparency but is not used as a headline finding.

Key data for journalists

  • Croatia recorded 69.62% of its 2025 tourist accommodation nights in June–August, the highest share among the EU27; Greece recorded 56.77% and Bulgaria 56.73%.

    Destination Finder analysis of Eurostat data

  • Malta recorded the lowest June–August share in the 2025 EU27 ranking, at 30.98%.

    Destination Finder analysis of Eurostat data

  • Across all 27 EU countries combined, the weighted summer share rose from 41.81% in 2024 to 42.16% in 2025, or +0.35 pp.

    Destination Finder analysis of Eurostat data

  • In the matched 25-country panel, the weighted summer share fell from 43.17% in 2019 to 42.05% in 2025; summer accounted for a smaller share of annual tourist accommodation nights in 21 of them.

    Destination Finder analysis of Eurostat data

Methodology and limitations

Source and scope. Eurostat tour_occ_nim, using freq=M, unit=NR, nace_r2=I551-I553 and c_resid=TOTAL. The data were retrieved 2026-09-09 and frozen for this article. Nothing is fetched at page load.

Summer concentration. 100 × (June + July + August accommodation nights) / January–December accommodation nights.

Peak month. 100 × the largest monthly accommodation-nights total / January–December accommodation nights.

What is counted. Overnight stays in covered tourist accommodation establishments; they are not unique tourists.

Comparisons. Changes in shares are percentage points, not percentage growth. The 2024–2025 EU27 benchmark is a ratio of summed nights across all 27 countries. The combined summer nights of included countries divided by their combined annual nights; not an average of country percentages. The 2019 comparison uses the same 25 eligible countries in both years and excludes Bulgaria and Ireland.

Flags and comparability. Eurostat observation flags are preserved. 2024 comparison includes Eurostat low-reliability observations (u). Country totals reflect national reporting coverage and practices. Lithuania’s unusually large observed change requires a national coverage and comparability check.

Limitations. The measure describes when accommodation nights were recorded within a calendar year. It does not measure unique tourists, crowding, tourism intensity, economic reliance, traveller motives, or causes. It should not be used alone to classify a country’s complete seasonal pattern.

Explore the underlying data

Explore destinations mentioned in this research

Destination guides for places in the countries discussed above. The statistics in this article are national figures; they are not specific to any one city or region.