Sharing Economy Growth Was a Big Part of European Tourism's Excellent 2017
Skift Take
Much of the European tourism industry has emerged from the doldrums of 2015 and 2016 stronger than ever, but not without fault lines to keep track of, such as hotels and alternative accommodations. The latter is proving it's a sector that's holding its weight against hotels across much of the continent.
We learned last week that European tourism had a banner year with international arrivals projected to have grown more than 8 percent in 2017 despite terrorism incidents and economic shocks.
And this week we are finding out that non-European visitors and alternative accommodations played a leading role in the growth, according to the European Commission.
Some 671 million international travelers visited European destinations in 2017, leading to 3.2 billion overnight stays (up 5.1 percent year-over-year) in hotels and alternative accommodations. Data show the number of nights spent at hotels, at alternative accommodations like Airbnb, and at campsites increased by 4.9 percent, 4.7 percent, and 6.9 percent, respectively.
Interestingly, growth in overnight stays in alternative accommodations was stronger than hotels in many of Europe's most iconic destinations. Spain, which by all accounts eclipsed the United States to become the second most visited country last year, saw hotel overnight stays grow 2.
