ETC reports increased arrivals, despite weaker consumer confidence

In its latest European Tourism: Trends & Prospects quarterly report, the European Travel Commission (ETC) found that international tourist arrivals to Europe increased by 5.0% year-to-date compared to the same period in 2025, while overnight stays rose by 4.8%.

The stable performance comes despite weaker consumer confidence, rising affordability pressures and disruption linked to the conflict in the Middle East, which affected aviation flows between Europe and certain mid-haul and long-haul markets.

In fact, the ETC’s findings show that travel remains a priority for consumers, but choices are becoming more selective.

Travellers are increasingly looking for destinations that are perceived as safer, offer good value for money and are easier to reach, while trips continue to spread more evenly across the year.

Destination performance also remained largely stable, with almost 80% of reporting destinations recording growth and around one in five achieving double-digit increases in arrivals.

Miguel Sanz, President, European Travel Commission, observed that: “European tourism has continued to show resilience in Q2 2026, despite a more uncertain global environment. Travel remains a priority for consumers, but the way people travel is changing.”

However, Sanz pointed out that: “Affordability, safety, proximity and value for money are becoming increasingly important in destination choice. For European destinations, the priority will be to remain competitive while supporting more balanced visitor flows across regions and seasons.”

The largest increases in arrivals during the first months of 2026 were recorded by Greece (+38%), Italy (+21%) and Malta (+16%), supported by strong connectivity and efforts to spread demand beyond peak seasons and traditional hotspots.

Northern Europe outperformed all other European subregions, with arrivals up 10.0% and overnight stays up 8.4%.

Central and Eastern Europe also recorded growth, with arrivals increasing by 5.2% and nights rising by 6.9%, reflecting continued interest in destinations offering new experiences and better value for money.

Southern and Mediterranean Europe remained solid overall, recording the largest growth in absolute terms, with broad-based increases in Malta, Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain.

And while the overall outlook remains positive, some destinations faced a more challenging start to the year.

Cyprus recorded a 17.9% decline in arrivals, partly due to Easter timing effects and weaker traveller sentiment linked to perceived proximity to the conflict in the Middle East.

Türkiye also saw arrivals fall by 2.1%, reflecting softer demand from both European and long-haul visitors amid the regional conflict.

The impact was also visible in aviation.

European air passenger activity remained strong in Q1 2026, with Revenue Passenger Kilometres up 7.0% and March recording the strongest growth at 8.0%. However, performance slowed sharply in April to 1.0%, as the conflict disrupted flights between Europe and several long-haul markets.

On the other hand, travel spending outpaced arrivals in most reporting destinations, suggesting higher spend per visitor than a year earlier.

Greece stood out as one of Europe’s strongest performers, with spending up 64.3%.

Looking ahead to summer 2026, leisure travel is expected to remain a priority despite continued economic uncertainty.

In key European source markets, leisure travel spending is forecast to remain steady at 13.0% of total consumer spending in 2026, well above the global average of 8.5%. The share in key non-European source markets is also set to increase slightly, from 7.5% in 2025 to 7.7%.

For the full report, CLICK HERE.