Camping and caravanning across the European Union reached a new high in 2025, with 413 million nights spent at campsites and other open-air accommodation, according to the latest Eurostat figures. The results point to continued demand for outdoor lodging and provide campground and resort operators with insight into the customer segments and travel preferences shaping the market.
Open-air accommodation accounted for 13.4% of all tourist accommodation nights recorded across the EU in 2025. The category has also expanded faster than hotels and other short-stay accommodation over the past decade. Between 2015 and 2025, nights spent at open-air accommodation increased by 28.5%, compared with a 23.4% increase for hotels and other short-stay lodging.
France was the leading EU destination for camping and caravanning in 2025, recording 154 million nights, or more than one-third of the EU’s total. Spain followed with 49.8 million nights, while Italy recorded 49.1 million and Germany 45 million, according to Out&AboutLive.
For outdoor hospitality businesses, the distribution of demand across these markets highlights the continued importance of France, Spain, Italy and Germany within the European camping economy. The figures also suggest that outdoor accommodation is not simply maintaining its position within the broader tourism market but has increased its share of overnight stays over time.
Additional guest data from BiHoliday, which operates open-air resorts in Italy and Croatia, provides an indication of how demand is developing heading into the 2026 season. The operator’s summer figures show that families with children represented 43% of its guests, while couples accounted for another 35%. Together, the two groups made up more than three-quarters of its customer base.
The data also points to several considerations for operators planning their 2026 offerings. Guests traveling with pets represented more than 18% of BiHoliday’s total, indicating that pet-friendly policies and facilities may remain relevant to a significant portion of the market. Meanwhile, 46% of guests said they were interested in sports, including activities such as fitness and water sports.
BiHoliday also identified access to nature and the availability of space as important factors influencing demand for open-air tourism. For campground and resort operators, this can translate into opportunities to position outdoor amenities, recreational programming and surrounding natural environments as part of the overall guest experience rather than treating accommodation as the sole product.
The Eurostat figures provide the broader market context, while BiHoliday’s 2026 guest data offers a more specific view of consumer behavior at open-air resorts. Taken together, the data suggests that operators may benefit from maintaining a broad family and couples offering while also considering pet-friendly services, active recreation and opportunities for guests to spend time outdoors.
With 413 million campsite nights recorded across the EU in 2025, the scale of the market gives operators a substantial base of existing demand to serve. The challenge for individual businesses will be translating broader growth into occupancy, longer stays and ancillary revenue while adapting products and services to the preferences of their target markets.
