EU travel demand stays concentrated within bloc as residents take 1.20 billion trips in 2025

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EU travel demand 2025

Highlights

EU residents take 1.20 billion trips in 2025, up by 17 million from 2024, with 70% remaining within their home country.
Foreign journeys, despite being just 30% of total trips, drive higher spending at 379.4 billion euros versus 266.2 billion euros for domestic travel in 2025.
Romania leads EU domestic travel share at 89%, while Luxembourg posts the lowest at 5%, highlighting significant national differences in travel patterns.

Eurostat data highlights 2025 travel patterns

As reported by Eurostat, EU residents make 1.20 billion personal and professional trips in 2025, up by 17 million from 2024. Of that total, 848 million are domestic trips, equal to 70%, while 264 million, or 22%, are trips to other EU countries.

The figures show that more than nine in 10 journeys taken by EU residents remain inside the EU. Trips to destinations outside the bloc account for 8% of the total, and less than half of those journeys are to places outside Europe.

Among member states, Romania records the highest domestic-trip share at 89% of all trips by residents, followed by Spain at 87%. Greece, France and Portugal each post a domestic share of 85%, while Luxembourg has the lowest at 5%, ahead of Belgium at 29% and Malta at 32%.

Foreign travel captures bigger share of spending

Although domestic travel represents the larger volume of trips, foreign journeys generate higher overall expenditure by EU residents in 2025. Spending reaches 266.2 billion euros for domestic trips and 379.4 billion euros for foreign trips.

For domestic travel, accommodation accounts for 34% of expenditure, or 90.3 billion euros, while transport represents 21%, or 56.0 billion euros. On foreign trips, residents spend 131.3 billion euros on accommodation, equal to 35% of the total, and 121.5 billion euros on transport, or 32%, underscoring the higher cost profile of travel outside the home country.

In our earlier article on the EU’s post-pandemic recovery fund, we explained how the Recovery and Resilience Facility channels €573 billion in staged grants and loans to member states, with payouts tied to reform milestones and measurable targets. We also noted that about €440 billion had been disbursed by the end of August, with the remaining payments scheduled by year-end. The piece highlighted the program’s longer-term significance as a precedent for coordinated EU-level financing, even if it stops short of permanent fiscal integration.

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