The number of tourist accommodation fell in the EU

The tourism industry in the European Union in 2020 was marked by the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, when the number of bed stays in tourist accommodation facilities across the EU fell by 52 percent compared to 2019. This is according to a report published on Tuesday by Eurostat, the EU's statistical office. In a report to the media, Eurostat recalled that seasonality has always had a major impact on tourism, as was the case last year. The bridging season from April to June 2020 was "extremely peaceful" for the newly introduced travel restrictions and other precautionary measures taken in response to the corona crisis. In April and May, less than 3 percent of all tourism holidays in 2020 were recorded, while in 2019 the share of these two months was at the level of 15 percent. However, the spring absence of tourism last year led to a more significant recovery in travel during the summer months, when restrictions eased in most European countries after the first wave of the pandemic. The July-August summer season accounted for 42 percent of all bedtime stays in the tourism industry in one year last year, a significant increase from the situation in 2019, when the summer top season accounted for 32 percent of all annual bed nights. Eurostat added that the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on tourism during autumn 2020 was less pronounced than the dramatic decline in spring. The share of bedouts in the period from October to December last year reached the level of 13 percent, which is a decrease compared to 2019, when in the same period, these indicators were 20 percent. The tourist season in January-February 2020, just before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe, was similar to previous years, but according to Eurostat, the winter season finally accounted for 20 percent of all beds (in 2019 it was only 9 percent) , precisely because of the decline in tourism during 10 pandemic months.