Airbnb today called on city leaders in the European Union's ten most visited cities to address the overwhelming impact of hotels as a driver of mass tourism. Their call came as Palma prepared for the latest anti-tourism protest with Mallorcan hoteliers blaming Airbnb for much of the tourist overcrowding.
Using Eurostat data Airbnb said that that hotels were responsible for almost 80 percent of overnight stays in the European Union in 2024. Between 2021 and 2023, the number of nights booked in the continent's ten most visited cities increased 2.5 times - more than 200 million additional nights - and hotels accounted for three quarters of this increase.
‘If cities are serious about mass tourism, they can no longer ignore the impact of hotels,’ says Theo Yedinsky, Airbnb's Vice President of Public Policy, "Europe needs more housing, not more hotels. Yet in many cities, hotel construction continues, while housing development falls to lows not seen in almost a decade."
The report, entitled ‘Mass tourism in the EU’, is based on official data from Eurostat, the World Tourism Organisation, industry sources and Airbnb's own statistics.
Among its main conclusions:
In 2024, an all-time record was broken: 3 billion nights were booked in hotels and similar accommodations in European destinations.
Hotel accommodations account for around 80% of overnight stays in the EU.
Between 2021 and 2023, the two years following COVID-19 and which saw the sudden recovery of tourism, total overnight stays in the 10 most visited and popular cities in the EU increased by more than 200