European Neighbourhood Policy - East - tourism statistics

Data extracted in January 2023.

Planned article update: April 2024.

Highlights

There were 322 000 bed places in hotels and similar establishments across the European Neighbourhood Policy-East countries in 2021 (or latest year for which data is available), compared with 12 118 000 in the EU.

The number of bed places grew over the period 2011-2021 in each of the European Neighbourhood Policy-East countries for which data is available (Ukraine data 2011-2020).

In 2021 (Ukraine data 2020), the number of non-residents who arrived at hotels and similar establishments of the European Neighbourhood Policy-East countries fell by 62 %, compared with 2019.

Arrivals of non-residents at hotels and similar establishments, 2011-2021

This article is part of an online publication; it presents information for five European Neighbourhood Policy-East (ENP-East) countries, namely, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine, compared with the European Union (EU). Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine also all became enlargement countries in 2022, the European Council giving the three a European perspective and granting Moldova and Ukraine candidate status on 23 June 2022. This article does not contain any data on Belarus, as statistical cooperation with Belarus has been suspended as of March 2022. Data shown for Georgia exclude the regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia over which Georgia does not exercise control. The data managed by the National Bureau of Statistics of the Republic of Moldova does not include data from Transnistria over which the government of the Republic of Moldova does not exercise control. Since 2014, data for Ukraine generally exclude the illegally annexed Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the City of Sevastopol and the territories which are not under control of the Ukrainian government. The latest statistics in this Statistics Explained article cover the calendar year 2021, before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Data on Ukraine for the year 2021 is limited due to exemption under the martial law from mandatory data submission to the State Statistics Service of Ukraine, effective as of 3 March 2022.

This article highlights recent developments concerning the number of bed places in hotels and similar establishments, the number of arrivals of non-residents at tourist accommodation establishments and the number of trips made by outbound tourists.

Tourism plays an important role in the ENP-East countries because of its economic and employment potential, as well as its social and environmental implications. Tourism statistics are not only used to monitor tourism policies but also sustainable development policies at national and sub-national levels.

Full article

Tourism infrastructure

There were 322 000 bed places in hotels and similar establishments across the ENP-East countries in 2021. Half of these were in Ukraine (2020 data)

The number of bed places available in hotels and similar tourist accommodation establishments provides one measure of a country’s capacity to attract tourists. Official tourism statistics include business travellers as tourists, alongside individuals travelling for pleasure or other reasons. In 2021, the ENP-East countries had a combined total of 322 000 bed places (the latest data for Armenia refers to 2012 and for Ukraine, 2020). By comparison, there were 12.1 million bed places in hotels and similar establishments across the EU in 2021. Data is shown in Table 1 and illustrated as index numbers in Figure 1.

Table 1: Bed places in hotels and similar accommodation establishments, 2011-2021
(thousands)
Source: Eurostat (enpe_tour_cap_nat) and (tour_cap_nat)

Among the ENP-East countries, Ukraine had by far the highest number of bed places in hotels and similar establishments, at 162 000 in 2020 (latest data), corresponding to 50 % of the total number of bed places available within the ENP-East countries (2021 data except 2012 data for Armenia). The large fall between 2013 and 2014 in the number of bed places in Ukraine reflects, at least to a large extent, the change in geographical coverage of Ukrainian data, in particular the exclusion of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, as well as the City of Sevastopol and a part of the temporarily occupied territories in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. The second highest number of bed places among ENP-East countries in 2021 was in Georgia, where there were 88 000.

The number of hotel bed places grew in all of the ENP-East countries during the last decade

Figure 1 uses index numbers to allow developments in the number of bed places in hotels and similar establishments to be compared between countries over the period 2011-2021. The data for Ukraine is influenced by a change in the geographical coverage in 2014. In Ukraine the number of bed places increased marginally 2011-2020. There is no recent data for Armenia. The other ENP-East countries reported a marked expansion in their bed capacity over 2011-2021. In Georgia, the number of bed places more than tripled. For comparison, there was an overall increase of 7 % in the total number of bed places available across the EU in hotels and similar establishments between 2011 and 2021.

The year 2020 was the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to widespread restrictions on both international travel and domestic social interaction. Restrictions continued to affect international travel during 2021. In consequence, there was a global impact on tourism. Statistical comparisons are therefore useful between 2019, the last year before the COVID-19 pandemic, and 2021, the year of the latest data.

In Georgia, the number of bed places in hotels and similar establishments increased by 15 % from 2019 to 2021. Azerbaijan and Moldova also showed increases from 2019 to 2021, while both countries’ data was stable from 2019 to 2020. Ukraine has not reported data for 2021; the decline in the number of bed places from 2019 to 2020 was 6 %. In the EU, the 2021 figure was 2 % lower than in 2019.

Figure 1: Bed places in hotels and similar establishments, 2011-2021
(index 2011 = 100)
Source: Eurostat (enpe_tour_cap_nat) and (tour_cap_nat)

Non-resident arrivals

2.2 million non-residents arrived at hotels and similar establishments in the ENP-East countries in 2021 (Ukraine data 2020), down from 5.8 million in 2019

The data for arrivals of non-residents at hotels and similar establishments measures the current state of international tourism in a country. Table 2 shows the data, while Table 3 transforms the data to index numbers, allowing the development over time in countries’ international tourism sectors to be compared. Figure 2 shows the numbers of arrivals of non-residents per thousand inhabitants for selected years. This ‘normalisation’ allows comparison between countries of the importance of their international tourism sectors.

In 2021, Georgia had the highest number of non-residents arriving at hotels and similar establishments, with 1 327 000, followed by Armenia with 278 000 and Azerbaijan at 272 000. Ukraine had 248 000 arrivals in 2020 (no data available for 2021), while Moldova had 63 000 arrivals of non-residents in 2021. These data are clearly affected by the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic. In 2014, the first year for which Ukraine data coverage was comparable with later years, Georgia then had the largest number of non-residents arrivals at hotels and similar establishments, followed by Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Armenia and Moldova.

Taking all ENP-E countries together, there were 2.2 million arrivals of non-residents at hotels and similar establishments in 2021 (Ukraine, 2020 data), equivalent to 2.0 % of the 112.1 million arrivals in the EU. In 2019, non-resident arrivals in the ENP-East countries were equivalent to 1.8 % of the EU value.

Table 2: Arrivals of non-residents at hotels and similar establishments, 2011-2021
(thousands)
Source: Eurostat (enpe_tour_occ_arnat) and (tour_occ_arnat)

Table 3 and the Highlights section graph show the arrivals of non-residents staying in hotels and similar establishments during the period 2011-2021 as an index number, base 2011=100. This allows for comparison of country tourism sector developments over time. The data can generally be divided into the periods: 2011-2019, prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, and 2019-2021. During the period 2011-2019, there was a strong increase in the number of arrivals of non-residents in most ENP-East countries. The fastest expansion in the number of arrivals of non-residents was recorded in Georgia, as the number of arrivals in 2019 was 6.5 times as high as it was in 2011. The pace of growth in non-resident tourist arrivals in Azerbaijan was almost as fast, at 5.1 times higher in 2019 as in 2011. The increase was also considerable in Armenia over 2011-2019, at 4.4 times. During this period, the number of non-resident tourist arrivals more than doubled in Moldova. For comparison, the number of arrivals of non-residents in the EU increased by 41 % over 2011-2019.

In Ukraine, the number of non-resident tourist arrivals more than halved from 2013 to 2014. This is likely to be largely attributable to changes in the data from 2014 onwards as a result of the exclusion of the illegally annexed Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the City of Sevastopol and the territories which are not under control of the Ukrainian government. The 2019 figure was 70 % higher than 2014, the first year that an appropriate comparison can be made.

The number of arrivals of non-residents staying in hotels and similar establishments fell sharply in all ENP-East countries in 2021 in comparison with 2019, the last year before the Covid-19 pandemic. In Azerbaijan the decline was 79 %; Ukraine 72 % (2020 data instead of 2021); Moldova, 61 %; Georgia 54 %; and Armenia 49 %. For comparison, the decline in the number of arrivals in the EU of non-residents staying in hotels and similar establishments over 2019-2021 was 65 %.

Table 3: Arrivals of non-residents at hotels and similar establishments, 2011-2021
(index 2011 = 100)
Source: Eurostat (enpe_tour_occ_arnat) and (tour_occ_arnat)

Figure 2 shows the number of arrivals of non-residents at hotels and similar establishments relative to the number of (resident) inhabitants for the key years 2011, 2019, 2020 and 2021. This illustration allows the comparison of the importance of the international tourism sector between countries.

Among the ENP-East countries in 2021, Georgia had the highest ratio of non-resident arrivals, with 356 per 1 000 inhabitants, compared with 98 in 2011. In Armenia, the figures were 94 for 2021 and 38 for 2011. In Azerbaijan, there were 27 non-resident arrivals per 1 000 inhabitants in 2021 and 28 in 2011. There were 24 non-resident arrivals per 1 000 inhabitants in Moldova in 2021 (provisional data) and 20 in 2011. There were 21 and 6 arrivals of non-residents per 1 000 inhabitants in Ukraine in 2019, the last year prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, and 2020, respectively. 2021 data is not available and 2011 data is not comparable, for the reasons outlined in the discussion of Table 3. In the EU in 2021, the ratio was 251, compared with 510 in 2011. For each of the ENP-E countries for which data is available, the number of non-resident arrivals per 1 000 inhabitants was higher in 2019 than in 2021.

Figure 2: Arrivals of non-residents at hotels and similar establishments, 2011, 2019, 2020 and 2021
(per thousand inhabitants)
Source: Eurostat (enpe_tour_occ_arnat), (tour_occ_arnat) and (demo_pjan)

Outbound tourism

The number of outbound trips taken by tourists from Ukraine was 14.4 million in 2021, down from 28.9 million in 2019

This section details the ‘outbound’ flow of tourists travelling outside their country of residence from each of the ENP-E countries and the EU. The data are shown in Table 4 over the period 2011-2021. Figure 3 presents the data as an index number, base 2011=100. This allows for comparison of country developments over time.

Among the ENP-East countries, the highest number of outbound tourist trips was recorded in 2021 for Ukraine — the most populous of the ENP-East countries — at 14.4 million trips. In the same year, there were 558 000 outbound trips made by tourists from Azerbaijan, 474 000 from Georgia, 431 000 from Armenia and 218 000 from Moldova. EU tourists made an estimated 134.7 million outbound trips in 2021.

Table 4: Trips taken by outbound tourists, 2011-2021
(thousands)
Source: Eurostat (enpe_tour_dem_tttot) and (tour_dem_tttot)

Developments for the number of outbound tourist trips between 2011 and 2021 are shown in Figure 3 as index numbers to allow for inter-country comparisons. Once again, observed trends can be divided into the period from 2011 to 2019; and from 2019 to 2021.

During the period 2011-2019, there was a rapid expansion in the number of outbound tourist trips from Moldova and Armenia, the numbers of outbound tourists in 2021 being respectively 2.3 and 2.2 times as high as in 2011. For Azerbaijan, there was also a substantial increase: its number of outbound tourists was 88 % higher in 2019 than in 2011. For Ukraine the increase in the number of outbound tourist trips between 2011 and 2019 was 46 % and between 2014 and 2019, 29 %. There is no data for Georgia before 2019. The comparable figure for the EU over 2012-2019 was 29 % (no data available for 2011).

Between 2019, the last year before the COVID-19 pandemic, and 2021, outbound tourist trips fell sharply in each ENP-East country. The decline was by 87 % in Azerbaijan, 77 % in Armenia; 65 % in Georgia, by 50 % in Ukraine and 30 % in Moldova. In all ENP-East countries for which data is available except Moldova (no data for Georgia), as well as in the EU (2012 data instead of 2011), outbound tourism was considerably lower in 2021 than it had been in 2011. The decline in outbound tourism from the EU over 2019-2021 was 57 %.

Figure 3: Trips taken by outbound tourists, 2011-2021
(index 2011 = 100)
Source: Eurostat (enpe_tour_dem_tttot) and (tour_dem_tttot)

Source data for tables and graphs

European Neighbourhood Policy — East countries — tourism: tables and figures

Data sources

The data for ENP-East countries are supplied by and under the responsibility of the national statistical authorities of each country on a voluntary basis. The data result from an annual data collection cycle that has been established by Eurostat. These statistics are available free-of-charge on Eurostat’s website, together with a range of additional indicators for ENP-East countries covering most socio-economic topics.

Tourism, in a statistical context, refers to the activity of visitors taking a trip to a destination outside their usual environment, for less than a year. It can be for any main purpose, including business, leisure or other personal reasons other than to be employed in the place visited. A tourist is a visitor who stays overnight (at least one night).

Within the EU, a system of tourism statistics was established through Council Directive 95/57/EC of 23 November 1995 on the collection of statistical information in the field of tourism. This legal basis requires EU Member States to provide a regular set of comparable tourism statistics. The Directive was amended in 2004 and 2006, before being repealed in 2011 when the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union adopted Regulation (EU) No 692/2011 concerning European statistics on tourism. The 2011 Regulation on tourism statistics was amended in 2013, in 2019 and again in 2020; the current consolidated version of Regulation (EU) No 692/2011 incorporate all these amendments.

Tourism statistics in the EU consist of two main components: on the one hand, statistics relating to capacity (supply-side tourism statistics); on the other, statistics relating to tourism demand, generally measured here as numbers of arrivals. In most EU Member States, the former data are collected via surveys filled in by accommodation establishments, while the latter are mainly collected via traveller surveys at border crossings or through household surveys. Statistics on tourism demand refer to tourist participation, in other words, trips of at least one overnight stay during the reference period.

Tables in this article use the following notation:

Value in italics	data value is forecasted, provisional or estimated and is therefore likely to change;
:	not available, confidential or unreliable value;

Context

Tourism has the potential to contribute towards employment and economic growth, as well as to the development of rural, coastal, peripheral or less-developed areas. Infrastructure created for tourism purposes contributes to local development, while jobs that are created or maintained can help counteract industrial or rural decline. Sustainable tourism involves the preservation and enhancement of cultural and natural heritage, ranging from the arts to local gastronomy or the preservation of biodiversity.

On 2 July 2021, the European Commission and the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy presented the Eastern Partnership: a Renewed Agenda for cooperation with the EU’s Eastern partners. This agenda is based on the five long-term objectives, with resilience at its core, as defined for the future of the Eastern Partnership in the Joint Communication Eastern Partnership policy beyond 2020: Reinforcing Resilience – an Eastern Partnership that delivers for all in March 2020. It is further developed in the Joint Staff Working Document Recovery, resilience and reform: post 2020 Eastern Partnership priorities. It will be underpinned by an Economic and Investment plan. The Joint Declaration of the Eastern Partnership Summit ‘Recovery, Resilience and Reform’ of 15 December 2021 reaffirms strong commitment to a strategic, ambitious and forward-looking Eastern Partnership.

In cooperation with its ENP partners, Eurostat has the responsibility ‘to promote and implement the use of European and internationally recognised standards and methodology for the production of statistics necessary for developing and monitoring policy achievements in all policy areas’. Eurostat undertakes the task of coordinating EU efforts to increase the statistical capacity of the ENP countries. Additional information on the policy context of the ENP is provided here.