Key Takeaways
- New report reveals resorts account for nearly 80% of visitor nights within the EU
- Fewer properties, extra resorts, some metropolis districts now have three resort rooms for each 5 residents, housing development nears a decade low
- Resort company flock to the identical hotspots, majority of Airbnb visitor nights are exterior of cities
- Extra company and hovering resort costs, overtourism is getting worse the place Airbnb is restricted
Airbnb has immediately referred to as on metropolis leaders to sort out the overwhelming impression of resorts on driving overtourism within the ten most visited cities within the European Union (EU).
The decision comes as a brand new Airbnb report launched immediately highlights how overtourism within the EU is pushed by resorts, which accounted for nearly 80 % of visitor nights throughout the bloc in 2023 and 2024. It additionally reveals that between 2021 and 2023, visitor nights within the EU’s ten most visited cities elevated by over 200 million – or 2.5x – with resorts accounting for 75 % of this progress.
If cities are severe about easing overtourism, they have to tackle the overwhelming impression of resorts. Europe wants extra properties – not resorts – but cities are constructing extra resorts as the development of housing within the area nears a decade low. Theo Yedinsky, Airbnb’s Vice President of Public Coverage
The new report ‘Overtourism within the EU’ is predicated on official knowledge from Eurostat and the World Tourism Organisation, in addition to business and Airbnb knowledge. It reveals that:
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Overtourism is overwhelmingly pushed by resorts.
- In 2024, a record-breaking 3 billion vacationer nights have been spent in resorts and different related lodging in EU locations.
- Motels and different related lodging accounted for nearly 80% of visitor nights within the EU.
- As EU tourism recovered from Covid, complete visitor nights within the EU’s 10 hottest cities grew by over 200 million – or 2.5x – between 2021 and 2023 alone. Motels and different related lodging accounted for greater than 75% of the rise.
- Throughout these EU cities in 2023, resorts accounted for 5 instances extra visitor nights than Airbnb.
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Cities want extra properties – not resorts.
- Resort lodging is overwhelmingly positioned in metropolis facilities.
- Central Amsterdam has 15x extra resort rooms or related lodging than Airbnb listings. There are roughly seven resort beds for every short-term rental mattress in Barcelona’s Previous City.
- Near 40,000 resort rooms have been opened in Europe in 2024 alone.
- On the finish of 2024, almost 250,000 resort rooms have been both below development or within the planning phases throughout Europe.
- In some EU metropolis districts – like Praha 1 in Prague and Santo Antonio in Lisbon – there are actually roughly three resort rooms per 5 native residents.
- In Spain alone, authorities have authorised 800+ new resort initiatives, including 75,000 new resort rooms throughout the nation by 2026.
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Airbnb affords a distinct solution to journey that spreads company and advantages to extra communities.
- Company use Airbnb to flee vacationer traps and uncover new locations, visiting a record-breaking 110,000 locations worldwide in 2024.
- Whereas resort company flock to the identical cities 12 months after 12 months, nearly all of visitor nights stayed on Airbnb within the EU – virtually 60% – have been exterior of cities.
- Annual Airbnb visitor nights within the EU in 2024 grew sooner in places exterior of cities in comparison with inside cities.
- In complete throughout the highest 10 most visited EU cities in 2024, over 260,000 Airbnb company stayed in a neighbourhood and not using a resort.
- Airbnb stays in neighbourhoods with out resorts grew by roughly 60% between 2022 and 2024, signalling rising curiosity from Airbnb company in places exterior of overcrowded metropolis centres.
- Half of Airbnb company within the EU say they’d not have visited the neighbourhood by which they stayed had it not been for a list on Airbnb being positioned there.
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Overtourism is getting worse the place Airbnb is restricted.
- Following the introduction of restrictions on short-term leases in Amsterdam and Barcelona in 2018, visitor nights proceed to rise. By 2024 that they had elevated by 2.4 million in Amsterdam and 4.8 million in Barcelona.
- Within the post-covid restoration interval from 2021-2024, resorts accounted for 93% of the rise in visitor nights in Amsterdam and 76% in Barcelona.
- With fewer lodging choices, resort occupancy and costs have soared, with costs rising by 50% in Amsterdam and 35% in Barcelona between 2019 and spring 2025.
- As a result of resorts are concentrated in metropolis facilities, they exacerbate tourism overcrowding and ship fewer tourism proceeds to households within the communities the place locals truly reside.
Along with offering a substitute for hotel-driven mass tourism, Airbnb helps households afford their properties and helps native communities. When company keep in resorts, they spend cash in resorts. For each greenback company spend on Airbnb within the EU, they spend a mean of $2.50 in the local people. Throughout France, Germany, Italy and Spain, journey on Airbnb contributed a complete of $44.6 billion to GDP and supported a complete of 627,000 jobs in 2024 alone. Nearly half of hosts globally say the revenue they earn from internet hosting helps them afford their properties1.
When company keep in Airbnbs they uncover new communities, assist households afford their properties and help native companies
, stated Theo Yedinsky. The place Airbnb is restricted, customer numbers proceed to rise, extra company keep in metropolis centre resorts, and journey turns into dearer – with fewer proceeds going to native households. We encourage leaders to look past resorts and embrace tourism that helps households and communities.
The study extra, you possibly can learn the full report.
1. Based mostly on Airbnb inside knowledge.
About Airbnb
Airbnb was born in 2007 when two hosts welcomed three company to their San Francisco house, and has since grown to over 5 million hosts who’ve welcomed over 2 billion visitor arrivals in virtually each nation throughout the globe. Each day, hosts provide distinctive stays and experiences that make it potential for company to attach with communities in a extra genuine approach.
About Airbnb.org
Airbnb.org is a nonprofit group devoted to facilitating short-term stays for folks in instances of disaster around the globe. Airbnb.org operates independently and leverages Airbnb, Inc.’s expertise, providers, and different assets at no cost to hold out Airbnb.org’s charitable objective. The inspiration for Airbnb.org started in 2012 with a single host named Shell who opened up her house to folks impacted by Hurricane Sandy. This sparked a motion and marked the start of a program that enables hosts on Airbnb to supply stays for folks in instances of want. Since then, this system has advanced to give attention to emergency response and to assist present stays to evacuees, reduction staff, refugees, asylum seekers, and frontline staff preventing the unfold of COVID-19. Since then, hosts have supplied to open up their properties and helped present lodging to 100,000 folks in instances of want. Airbnb.org is a separate and impartial entity from Airbnb, Inc. Airbnb, Inc. doesn’t cost service charges for Airbnb.org supported stays on its platform.