Among the top 15 performers, the most notable increases were recorded in Rome (303.7%), Barcelona (224.8%), and Amsterdam (171.0%).
The latest edition of the City Travel Report by CityDNA (formerly known as the CityDNA Benchmarking Report) reveals a significant rebound in European city tourism, as cities achieved an average growth rate of 79.6% in 2022, surpassing the previous year’s rate of 36.7%. The report, featuring results from 115 European cities, showcases the remarkable progress made in the post-pandemic recovery. In line with the sustainability strategies, the report includes qualitative KPIs such as estimations of transport-related CO2 emissions caused by city tourism and train connectivity data.
The 19th edition of the City Travel Report by CityDNA includes 115 European cities and features key figures, as well as qualitative KPIs for the year 2022.
The remarkable growth rate is due to solid recovery in total bednights experienced in 111 out of 115 analysed cities. The top three cities in terms of total bednights in 2022 remained London, Paris, and Istanbul.
Among the top 15 performers, the most notable increases were recorded in Rome (303.7%), Barcelona (224.8%), and Amsterdam (171.0%), which led to an improvement in their rankings from 2021: Rome moved from being ranked 15th to 5th, Barcelona from 9th to 6th, and Amsterdam from 10th to 7th.
Europe’s main source markets recorded increases in 2022, with impressive double-digit (Germany, France, Spain, Russia) and triple-digit growth (USA, UK, Italy, China, Japan) rates.
The past year has shown positive average annual growth rates in international bednights in both the cities of the City Travel Report (167.0%) and the EU 27 nations and UK (82.8%). Cities increased much more than other regions (100.6% versus 40.2%) in terms of total bednights volumes, which highlights yet again the importance of city destinations in the European tourism.
Further analysis revealed that the average growth rate of bed capacity for the cities of the City Travel Report gained momentum with an increase of 3.2% in 2022. Regarding bed occupancy, the benchmark average in 2022 was 43.1%, in comparison to 26.4% in 2021.
In line with the sustainability strategies, the City Travel Report continues with estimations of transport-related CO2 emissions caused by city tourism. Upon inspection of CO2 emissions caused by tourists traveling to/from the city, average nominal value for total CO2 in 2022 was at 600,199, which unsurprisingly, was heavily skewed by large cities such as Amsterdam, Lisbon, and Vienna. The report now also includes valuable information about the most connected cities by train in 2022, with a brief preview here: German and Swiss cities recorded the highest numbers of international trains, counted by train numbers connecting at least one other country.
“CityDNA’s commitment to quality key performance indicators (KPIs) is evident in this latest report, featuring new chapters that showcase the importance of products and services, in achieving sustainable long-term growth. From analysing CO2 emissions to assessing train connectivity, we aim to provide valuable insights that go beyond traditional metrics and highlight the factors that truly shape exceptional city tourism experiences.” added Petra Stušek, President of City Destinations Alliance.
The choice of destinations is influenced by tourism and non-tourism external factors, but also by the international connectivity. Thanks to CityDNA’s partnership with ForwardKeys, this year’s report includes valuable air travel insights and analysis on available airline seats, international arrivals for the top 30 destinations across Europe in 2022, and the total global searches for international travel during the summer period (July/August 2023).
“At CityDNA we recognize the impact of international connectivity on destination choice. By understanding these factors, destinations can make informed decisions to attract visitors and foster sustainable long-term growth.” continued Petra Stušek.
The results from the City Travel Report demonstrate that in spite of the immense impact of the pandemic over the past few years, European city tourism is on the recovery path.
“Considering the performance in 2019, 2020 and 2021 as well as the ongoing challenges for the European tourism as a whole (e.g., war in Ukraine, inflation, climate change), cities are now able to set more realistic targets for the recovery of tourism ecosystems in both the current year and the medium term.” concluded Petra Stušek.
Vicky is the co-founder of TravelDailyNews Media Network where she is the Editor-in Chief. She is also responsible for the daily operation and the financial policy. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Tourism Business Administration from the Technical University of Athens and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Wales.
She has many years of both academic and industrial experience within the travel industry. She has written/edited numerous articles in various tourism magazines.
