European Union residents made one billion holiday trips in 2011, and around one quarter of them were trips outside the country of residence (outbound trips).
Spain was the top foreign destination of EU residents during the year, attracting 13 percent of all outbound trips, according to data released by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.
Spain is followed by Italy and France, both nine percent each. These figures do not include trips made by non-EU residents to the EU.
Among the Member-States, the highest numbers of outbound holiday trips in 2011 were recorded by residents of Germany (73 million or 34 percent of holiday trips made by residents), the United Kingdom (44 million or 38 percent), France (22 million or 11 percent) and the Netherlands (16 million or 52 percent).
These four Member-States accounted for almost two thirds of all outbound holiday trips made by EU residents. In a majority of Member-States, most holiday trips were made within the country of residence, while half or more than half of all trips made by residents of Luxembourg (nearly 100 percent of all holiday trips), Belgium (74 percent), Slovenia (56 percent), the Netherlands (52 percent) and Austria (50 percent) were trips to a foreign country.
In all 27 EU-Member States, the top destination of outbound holiday trips made by residents in 2011 was a neighboring or nearby country, except for residents of Romania, for whom Italy was the top destination of outbound trips, the Swedes, who preferred Greece, and the British, for whom Spain was the favorite destination.
Among the top three destinations of outbound holiday trips, Spain was the preferred holiday destination for residents of Portugal (39 percent of outbound trips), the United Kingdom (21 percent) and France (18 percent), while France was the top destination for residents of Belgium (33 percent), Luxembourg (23 percent), Spain and Italy (both 16 percent), and Italy was the preferred destination for residents of Malta (32 percent), Austria (22 percent) and Romania (20 percent).
In addition, Germany was the top destination for holiday trips abroad for residents of the Netherlands (18 percent), Poland (15 percent) and Denmark (14 percent).
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