Luxembourg only EU country to record drop in overnight tourist stays

Luxembourg was the only country in the European Union to record a slight fall in the number of tourists staying overnight in 2017, according to Eurostat.

The statistics office of the European Union estimates 2.9 million nights were spent in a hotel, rented holiday accommodation or campsite in the Grand Duchy last year – of which 2.6 million were non-residents and 0.3 million were residents.

The figures, includings nights spent whether for business or leisure, represent a 1% drop overall compared to 2016 – equivalent to 28,000 nights.

While other EU countries recorded a decreased number of nights spent in tourist accommodation by residents, Luxembourg was the only country to see a drop in the number of non-residents.

Residents' overnight stays in the Grand Duchy were down 4.1%, while there was a 0.6% drop from non-residents – the latter equivalent to 15,000 nights.

Overall, numbers across the EU reached more than 3.2 billion – up 5.1% on 2016. Spain remained top for tourists' overnight stays, followed by France and Germany.

The largest increases in the number of nights spent as a tourist were observed in Latvia, Slovenia and Croatia – which all recorded growth above 10%.

Eurostat estimated the numbers based on the first 10 or 11 months of the year.

A spokesman for Luxembourg for Tourism, the national tourism development and promotion agency, said based on its surveys, tourism in the Grand Duchy had been on a "positive trend" in 2017.

(Updated at 17:43 with comment from Luxembourg for Tourism)