A new European tourism report estimates that the sector contributed nearly US$3 trillion to regional GDP in 2025 and supported 40.7 million jobs. It urges governments to address investment, visitor access, sustainability and workforce challenges. The UK ranked second among European travel and tourism economies, with a contribution of US$380 billion, behind Germany.
The report was released on 9 October at the World Travel & Tourism Council’s global summit in Valletta. Its eight priorities are recommendations from the private-sector body, not policies already adopted by European governments or the European Union.
A large sector with uneven growth
The council estimates that travel and tourism represented 9.4% of Europe’s economy in 2025. It forecasts 3.1% growth for the sector in 2026, compared with 1.1% for the wider European economy. These are forecasts rather than confirmed outcomes, and the organisation says its projections reflect economic and geopolitical conditions at the time of publication.
The report’s figures put the UK’s travel and tourism contribution at US$380 billion, behind Germany’s US$566 billion and ahead of France’s US$312 billion and Spain’s US$291 billion. It also says economies outside the EU accounted for US$834 billion of the region’s sector contribution, with the UK the largest among them. The estimates describe the sector’s economic footprint; they do not mean that amount was generated solely by overseas visitors.
For 2025, the report counts 757.3 million international overnight arrivals in Europe and US$835 billion in international visitor spending. It projects arrivals could reach 1.14 billion by 2036. The scale of those numbers helps explain why the recommendations combine efforts to attract visitors with proposals to spread activity across places and seasons.
Eight proposed areas for action
On travel access, the council points to a decline in multiple-entry Schengen visas: 5.3 million were issued in 2025, 40% fewer than in 2019. It calls for faster digital visa processes, more multiple-entry visas, a reciprocal trusted-traveller arrangement and a workable approach to biometrics at EU airports. These proposals concern entry processes and do not themselves change visa rules.
Another priority is diversifying visitor markets. The report says 74.3% of Europe’s international arrivals in 2025 came from within Europe, while arrivals from Asia-Pacific remained 4.8% below 2019. The council proposes joint public-private promotion, steadier tourism-marketing budgets and pairing campaigns with easier visa access, rather than relying only on headline visitor totals.
Investment is a further concern. Estimated European sector investment reached US$259 billion in 2025, up 7.1% year on year but still 3.6% below 2019. The council wants tourism recognised as a strategic area in the EU’s 2028–2034 budget framework, with access to investment programmes and improved finance for smaller businesses. That is an industry request during budget discussions, not a commitment by EU institutions.
The remaining priorities address sustainable tourism, destination stewardship, skills, artificial intelligence and connectivity. The report estimates that tourism accounted for 6.3% of Europe’s greenhouse-gas emissions in 2024, while emissions intensity fell 14.8% from 2019. It recommends climate adaptation, water and waste management, nature protection and lower-emission transport options.
For destinations, the council advocates planning around housing, mobility and local services, shifting from visitor-volume targets towards value, using data to distribute trips through the year, and making any visitor levies transparent and dedicated to destination management. It also recommends apprenticeships and skills recognition, targeted AI support for smaller firms, and more integrated air, rail, maritime and road journeys, including accessible booking and ticketing.
Choices still lie with governments
The report arrives as European institutions prepare a dedicated tourism strategy and negotiate the next long-term EU budget. The council argues that these processes offer an opportunity to give tourism greater prominence in economic and investment policy. Whether any recommendation is taken forward will depend on decisions by governments and EU institutions.
Its outlook anticipates Europe’s travel and tourism contribution reaching US$3.8 trillion by 2036, with more than 50 million jobs. Those projections are not guaranteed. The report’s central policy argument is that growth should be matched by investment, worker development and measures to manage environmental and local-service pressures, rather than judged by visitor numbers alone.
