The use of online platforms for bookings (Airbnb, Booking, Expedia, TripAdvisor) continues to increase in the European Union, with almost 153 million nights spent in short term rental accommodation during the second quarter of 2023, corresponding to an increase of 15.8% compared with the same period in 2022, according to data released by Eurostat, the statistical service of the EU.

This data shows that platform tourism continues to exceed pre-pandemic levels and set new monthly record values according to Eurostat.

In April, 46.7 million nights were spent in accommodation booked via online platforms, showing an increase of 19.5% compared with April 2022. In May, this number increased to 47.6 million nights (+22.6% compared to May 2022) and in June, the total was 58.7 million (+8.4% compared with June 2022).

Bookings through online platforms also increased in Cyprus during the months of this period. In April there were 331 thousand bookings compared to 289 thousand in April 2022, in May there were 369 thousand bookings compared with 313 thousand the same month last year, and in June there were 455 thousand compared to 387 thousand the same month last year.

In the first half of 2023, guests spent around 237 million nights in EU short-term rental accommodation booked via online platforms. This is a significant growth compared with 2022 (199 million nights; +18.8 %); with nights spent far exceeding pre-pandemic levels (193 million nights in 2019; +22.6%).

This information comes from monthly data on short-stay accommodation offered via online platforms for the second quarter 2023 at the national level.

In addition, regional data for the first quarter of 2023 are also being released. These data are collected from four private platforms as part of an agreement with the European Commission.

On a regional level, Alpine winter destinations were the most popular during the first quarter of 2023, while traditional coastal holiday destinations remain popular throughout the year.

The most popular regions for short-term rental accommodation booked via online platforms in the first quarter of 2023 were Rhône-Alpes in France (5.2 million nights), and the Spanish regions of Canarias (5.0 million) and Andalucía (4.3 million). Regions dependent on winter tourism, such as Tirol in Austria (1.9 million) also appeared high on the list.

In the top 20 regions, France and Spain had five regions, Italy and Portugal three, Austria two, while Poland and Hungary had one each.