The number of bed nights in popular European city destinations fell dramatically in 2020 over the previous year as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. According to the ECM benchmarking report, London was the most popular destination in Europe in 2020, with approximately 20.1 million bed nights. However, the UK's capital reported over 85 million bed nights in 2019. Due to the health crisis, the total tourism expenditure in London was forecast to drop by over six billion British pounds in the second half of 2021 compared to the same period of 2019.
Is London the most popular city?
In the hospitality industry, a bed night measures the occupancy of one person (assigned to one bed) for one night. While London ranked first in terms of bed nights, the United Kingdom received a Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index (TTCI) score of 5.2 out of 7.0 in 2019, taking only the fourth place on the list. The TTCI takes into consideration factors such as a country's infrastructure and its policy and enabling conditions. Comparatively, Spain ranked first on the TTCI, but its capital city Madrid ranked only tenth in terms of bed nights in 2020, recording nearly a 76 percent decrease in bed nights over the previous year due to the pandemic.
Leading European city tourism destinations in 2019 and 2020, by number of bed nights
(in millions)
*According to the source these cities have different definitions and data rectifications.
The ranking is from ECM's cities Marketing Benchmarking study, which was based on bed nights from Europe's main source market (United States, Germany, United Kingdom, France, Spain, Italy, China, Russia, and Japan).
Cities are ranked according to the number of bed nights recorded in 2020. Figures have been rounded. Data for 2019 were previously published by the source.
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European Cities Marketing. (November 10, 2021). Leading European city tourism destinations in 2019 and 2020, by number of bed nights (in millions) [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved July 07, 2022, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/314340/leading-european-city-tourism-destinations-by-number-of-bednights/
European Cities Marketing. "Leading European city tourism destinations in 2019 and 2020, by number of bed nights (in millions)." Chart. November 10, 2021. Statista. Accessed July 07, 2022. https://www.statista.com/statistics/314340/leading-european-city-tourism-destinations-by-number-of-bednights/
European Cities Marketing. (2021). Leading European city tourism destinations in 2019 and 2020, by number of bed nights (in millions). Statista. Statista Inc.. Accessed: July 07, 2022. https://www.statista.com/statistics/314340/leading-european-city-tourism-destinations-by-number-of-bednights/
European Cities Marketing. "Leading European City Tourism Destinations in 2019 and 2020, by Number of Bed Nights (in Millions)." Statista, Statista Inc., 10 Nov 2021, https://www.statista.com/statistics/314340/leading-european-city-tourism-destinations-by-number-of-bednights/
European Cities Marketing, Leading European city tourism destinations in 2019 and 2020, by number of bed nights (in millions) Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/314340/leading-european-city-tourism-destinations-by-number-of-bednights/ (last visited July 07, 2022)
