Romanian travel trends
Romanians once again preferred holidays at home last year, with Romania ranking first in the European Union for the share of domestic trips.
Daniela Budu, 15.10.2026, 13:50
Romania had the highest proportion of domestic trips among all European Union member states in 2025. The latest Eurostat figures show that 89% of tourist trips made by Romanian residents last year were within the country. This was 1% lower than the figure recorded the previous year. According to domestic statistics, the capital and other county capitals were popular destinations for city breaks and leisure activities. In the national Destination of the Year 2025 competition, the top three cities were Oradea (first place, north-west), followed by Sibiu (second place, central Romania) and Brașov (third place, central Romania). The Danube Delta won the Grand Prize, being voted the country’s leading tourist destination of the year thanks to its natural attractions. Romania’s Black Sea coast remained the main summer holiday destination. Mountain resorts and spa resorts also accounted for a significant share of tourist arrivals.
Returning to the Eurostat figures, this year’s ranking is similar to that of 2024. Spain again came second, with domestic trips accounting for 87% of the total. Greece, France and Portugal each recorded a share of 85%. Although domestic tourism accounted for the largest share of trips taken across Europe last year, spending on trips abroad exceeded expenditure on domestic travel. At the other end of the ranking were Luxembourg, Belgium and Malta. The figures reflect the share of domestic trips in the total number of journeys, rather than the absolute number of holidays taken by residents of each country.
As for the total number of holidays, EU residents made 1.2 billion trips for personal or business purposes last year, up 1.4% from 2024, equivalent to around 17 million additional trips. Of these, 848 million were within the travelers’ countries of residence, while a further 264 million trips were made to other EU member states. The remainder were to countries outside the EU. According to Eurostat, most trips taken by EU residents therefore remained within the bloc. The figures also show that, although Europeans travelled more frequently within their own countries last year, trips abroad accounted for higher overall spending, totaling almost 380 billion euros. By comparison, domestic trips generated total expenditure of just over 266 billion euros. Eurostat data also show that accommodation and transport accounted for the largest share of Europeans’ spending on both domestic and international trips. (EE)
