In 2025, Croatia was the most seasonal of 35 European countries: 54.5% of its tourist nights fell in July and August. Malta was the least, at 21.8%. January was the quietest month in 19 countries. The data behind the report can be downloaded.
Which European countries are most and least seasonal?
For each of 35 countries, the share of 2025's tourist nights that fell in its two busiest months. The higher the share, the more the year piles into a short peak.1
| Rank | Country | Two busiest months | Share of the year | Busiest month | Quietest month |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Croatia | July and August | 54.5% | August | January |
| 2 | Bulgaria | July and August | 43.4% | August | November |
| 3 | Albania | July and August | 42.4% | August | February |
| 4 | Greece | July and August | 41.6% | August | January |
| 5 | Montenegro | July and August | 40.5% | August | January |
| 6 | France | July and August | 36.0% | August | November |
| 7 | Slovenia | July and August | 35.5% | August | November |
| 8 | Italy | July and August | 34.3% | August | November |
| 9 | Sweden | July and August | 33.2% | July | January |
| 10 | Iceland | July and August | 33.1% | July | December |
| 11 | Denmark | July and August | 32.8% | July | January |
| 12 | Romania | July and August | 32.3% | August | March |
| 13 | Norway | July and August | 31.8% | July | January |
| 14 | Luxembourg | July and August | 31.3% | July | January |
| 15 | Cyprus | July and August | 29.6% | August | January |
| 16 | Türkiye | July and August | 29.2% | August | February |
| 17 | Latvia | July and August | 29.1% | July | February |
| 18 | Ireland | July and August | 28.5% | August | January |
| 19 | Hungary | July and August | 28.2% | August | January |
| 20 | Spain | July and August | 27.6% | August | January |
| 21 | Czechia | July and August | 27.1% | August | January |
| 22 | Netherlands | July and August | 27.1% | August | February |
| 23 | Poland | July and August | 27.0% | August | January |
| 24 | Belgium | July and August | 26.6% | July | January |
| 25 | Estonia | July and August | 26.1% | July | January |
| 26 | Portugal | July and August | 26.0% | August | January |
| 27 | Slovakia | July and August | 25.9% | August | March |
| 28 | Liechtenstein | July and August | 25.8% | August | November |
| 29 | Switzerland | July and August | 25.7% | July | November |
| 30 | Austria | July and August | 24.9% | August | November |
| 31 | Lithuania | July and August | 24.5% | July | January |
| 32 | Germany | July and August | 24.1% | August | January |
| 33 | Finland | July and August | 24.1% | July | April |
| 34 | Serbia | July and August | 23.0% | August | February |
| 35 | Malta | July and August | 21.8% | August | January |
Which month is quietest?
The quietest month of 2025, by share of tourist nights, across the 35 countries: January (19), November (7), February (5), March (2), April (1), December (1). The busiest: August (24), July (11).
How busy is the shoulder season?
May and September together, against July and August together, as shares of each country's 2025 tourist nights. In none of the 35 countries did May and September carry more nights than July and August.
| Country | May and September | July and August |
|---|---|---|
| Albania | 19.2% | 42.4% |
| Austria | 13.8% | 24.9% |
| Belgium | 17.6% | 26.6% |
| Bulgaria | 16.3% | 43.4% |
| Croatia | 18.7% | 54.5% |
| Cyprus | 23.2% | 29.6% |
| Czechia | 17.8% | 27.1% |
| Denmark | 18.0% | 32.8% |
| Estonia | 16.0% | 26.1% |
| Finland | 14.6% | 24.1% |
| France | 17.3% | 36.0% |
| Germany | 19.5% | 24.1% |
| Greece | 24.8% | 41.6% |
| Hungary | 16.7% | 28.2% |
| Iceland | 17.6% | 33.1% |
| Ireland | 17.3% | 28.5% |
| Italy | 18.9% | 34.3% |
| Latvia | 17.1% | 29.1% |
| Liechtenstein | 17.5% | 25.8% |
| Lithuania | 16.3% | 24.5% |
| Luxembourg | 18.5% | 31.3% |
| Malta | 18.0% | 21.8% |
| Montenegro | 22.8% | 40.5% |
| Netherlands | 18.1% | 27.1% |
| Norway | 16.6% | 31.8% |
| Poland | 17.5% | 27.0% |
| Portugal | 19.7% | 26.0% |
| Romania | 16.7% | 32.3% |
| Serbia | 18.0% | 23.0% |
| Slovakia | 16.8% | 25.9% |
| Slovenia | 18.0% | 35.5% |
| Spain | 19.7% | 27.6% |
| Sweden | 16.0% | 33.2% |
| Switzerland | 16.4% | 25.7% |
| Türkiye | 21.7% | 29.2% |
Which regions are most seasonal?
The same measure for 123 regions (NUTS 2) with 2025 figures. The ten most seasonal and the ten least.2
| Region | Country | Share of the year |
|---|---|---|
| Sud-Est | Romania | 64.5% |
| Calabria | Italy | 56.9% |
| Jadranska Hrvatska | Croatia | 56.2% |
| Languedoc-Roussillon | France | 51.7% |
| Aquitaine | France | 50.1% |
| Marche | Italy | 49.6% |
| Småland med öarna | Sweden | 48.8% |
| Corse | France | 48.7% |
| Abruzzo | Italy | 48.4% |
| Molise | Italy | 48.4% |
| Region | Country | Share of the year |
|---|---|---|
| Ile de France | France | 18.8% |
| Bucureşti-Ilfov | Romania | 19.7% |
| Praha | Czechia | 19.9% |
| Mayotte | France | 20.0% |
| Guyane | France | 20.1% |
| La Réunion | France | 20.1% |
| Budapest | Hungary | 20.1% |
| Nordwestschweiz | Switzerland | 20.3% |
| Lazio | Italy | 20.3% |
| Wien | Austria | 20.4% |
Japan: which months are busiest?
The busiest month of 2025 by guest nights, across Japan's 47 prefectures: August (39), May (2), October (2), November (2), March (1), December (1). The quietest: February (17), January (16), June (8), April (5), December (1).3 The survey is a sample, so small differences between prefectures can fall within its error; we do not rank prefectures by how seasonal they are. See Japan by prefecture.
Download the data
The figures behind this report, as CSV files: the night counts as the statistics offices publish them, and the shares we calculated. Please credit the source given in each file's last column.
- europe-tourist-nights-by-month-2025.csv: Europe, 35 countries. Tourist nights by month, 2025, with each month's share of the year. Source: Eurostat (CC BY 4.0).
- europe-regions-tourist-nights-by-month-2025.csv: Europe, 123 regions. Tourist nights by month and NUTS 2 region, 2025. Source: Eurostat (CC BY 4.0).
- japan-guest-nights-by-month-2025.csv: Japan, 47 prefectures. Guest nights by month, 2025, with each month's share of the year. Source: Japan Tourism Agency (PDL 1.0).
Eurostat's data may be reused, including commercially, with the source acknowledged (Eurostat copyright notice). The Japan Tourism Agency's data is published under the Public Data License 1.0, which asks reusers to say when they have processed it; the file says so.
What this report cannot tell you
- How crowded a single town or site is: these are national and regional totals of nights in tourist accommodation.
- Day trips, cruise passengers and stays with friends or in private homes are not counted.
- What 2026 will look like: every figure describes 2025.
Key takeaways
- Most seasonal: Croatia, 54.5% of the year in two months.
- Least seasonal: Malta, 21.8%.
- July and August carried more nights than May and September in all 35 countries.
- What we would skip: reading national figures as the crowd at a single sight.
Sources
Figures from Eurostat and the Japan Tourism Agency; all shares and rankings are our calculation from their night counts. See how we research.
- Source: Eurostat, Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments – monthly data, doi:10.2908/TOUR_OCC_NIM, accessed 25 September 2026. Dataset last updated by Eurostat on 22 September 2026. Extract: number of nights, NACE codes I55.1–I55.3, all guests and split by guests resident in the country and abroad, January–December 2025.
- Source: Eurostat, Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments by month and NUTS 2 region, doi:10.2908/TOUR_OCC_NIN2M, accessed 22 September 2026. Dataset last updated by Eurostat on 2 July 2026. Extract: number of nights, NACE codes I55.1–I55.3, all guests, 2025, by month. Region names are Eurostat's.
- Source: 「宿泊旅行統計調査」（観光庁） (Overnight Travel Statistics Survey, Japan Tourism Agency), 2025 annual figures (final), tables 2 and 8 and reference table 1, published 6 July 2026. Survey page · workbook. Accessed 17 September 2026. Licensed under the Public Data License 1.0 (PDL1.0).
- Eurostat, Copyright notice and free re-use of data, on the conditions for commercial reuse. Read it. Checked 16 September 2026. Candidate status from Eurostat, Glossary: candidate countries. Read it.
Our calculation: shares worked out once from the night counts and rounded once. 「宿泊旅行統計調査」（観光庁）を加工して作成.