Amadeus, and UN Tourism have released a new report with comprehensive data on travel in Europe. ‘Travel Insights 2025 – Focus on Europe’ report offers in-depth insights into passenger traffic, hospitality market indicators, top-performing destinations, and new routes in Europe.
The report presents a detailed analysis of passenger traffic and capacity trends from May 2024 to April 2025 and provides a forecast extending to October 2025. Notable growth rates include a 6.7% year-on-year increase projected for the April–October 2025 period in air passenger traffic to Europe, derived from Amadeus Navigator360™ data.
Zurab Pololikashvili, Secretary-General of UN Tourism, comments:
– We are pleased to collaborate once again with Amadeus, one of our valuable Affiliate Members, to publish the first ‘Travel Insights 2025 – Focus on Europe’. At UN Tourism, we are committed to strengthening the capacity of our Members to access strategic data and enhance market intelligence. Reliable and up-to-date data is more critical than ever for the effective management of tourism and to be better prepared in an ever-evolving tourism landscape.”
Leading destinations continue to dominate
Classic destinations continue to dominate the wider landscape, with the top ten booked destinations in Europe for air travel accounting for 70.9% of all trips from May 2024-to-April 2025. These were led by Spain, the United Kingdom, Italy, France and Germany, as they were for the period from May 2023 to April 2024 (71.3%).
Similarly, in terms of available seats to Europe by market, Spain and the United Kingdom each accounted for 12% of scheduled air capacity to the region for May 2024–April 2025, highlighting a continued dominance as European gateways.
However, the most dynamic growth is happening outside these traditional leaders. Among the top 30 largest tourism destinations, Azerbaijan was the fastest growing, recording a 26% increase in air bookings between May 2023-to-April 2024 and May 2024-to-April 2025. At the same time, Kazakhstan (7%) and the Czech Republic (6%) also saw more modest increases in bookings over the period.
Focusing on Northern Europe
Northern Europe dominates the ranking of the Top 10 destinations in Europe with the highest increase in search volumes.
Travel interest has sharply increased for destinations like Norway (39%), Finland (36%), Georgia (33%), Albania (30%), Sweden (25%), and Denmark (24%), comparing May 2024-April 2025 against the previous year. However, the actual booking growth for the same period is more moderate.
Who is searching and visiting Northern Europe?
The U.S. and U.K. remain top origin markets both in terms of searches and actual arrivals, highlighting their consistent demand and travel conversion for Northern Europe.
Several Asian and Middle Eastern markets—China (155%), Japan (48%), Saudi Arabia (47%), Thailand (19%), Hong Kong (19%) —are among the fastest-growing in terms of search activity, with some, like Japan (18%), Saudi Arabia and Ireland (both at 10%), also showing double-digit booking growth.
Recommendation for Destination Management Organizations (DMOs): There may be value in exploring more targeted engagement in high-growth aspirational markets like Japan, China, and Saudi Arabia—particularly through partnerships, or campaigns that address booking conversion and promote accessibility to Northern Europe.
Which cities do travelers visit in Northern Europe?
London continues to lead both in search interest and bookings, maintaining its #1 position in both categories year-over-year. This confirms its role as the anchor city for Northern Europe travel.
Several emerging Nordic cities—like Tromsø (TOS), Rovaniemi (RVN), and Bergen (BGO)—are seeing strong year-on-year growth in searches (between 41% and 64%) and more moderate increase in bookings (between 3% and 7%), indicating increasing traveler appetite for nature-based and seasonal destinations.
Destinations such as Stavanger (SVG), Trondheim (TRD), and Gothenburg (GOT) appear in the top 10 for search growth but are not yet reflected in the fastest-growing bookings list, highlighting conversion potential if supported by the right access and promotion.
Optimistic European backdrop
The developments come against a positive backdrop across the European hospitality market. Amadeus Navigator360™ data reveals Western Europe – which includes Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, the Netherlands and Switzerland – recorded a modest increase in occupancy over the past year, rising from an average of 67% between May 2023-April 2024 to 68% between May 2024-April 2025. Over the same period the Average Daily Rate (ADR) increased from $198.32 to $204.24 across the region.
A similar pattern was seen in Northern Europe – covering Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom – with occupancy increasing from an average of 73% between May 2023-April 2024 to 75% between May 2024-April 2025. ADR in Northern Europe overall—and in the UK specifically—remains relatively stable throughout the year, hovering between $190–$230. Sweden and Norway have the lowest ADR levels in the region, often below $160. This price positioning may appeal to budget-conscious travelers but also suggests opportunity for yield optimization, particularly during peak travel months.
Javier Campo, VP of Commercial, Europe, Hospitality, Amadeus, adds:
– Amadeus Navigator360™ data shows both traffic and capacity follow a familiar seasonal pattern, peaking in July and August, reflecting strong summer travel demand. Interestingly, for most of the timeline, capacity is consistently higher than actual passenger traffic, especially for the April–September 2025 period. This indicates that airlines are planning ahead of demand, perhaps anticipating continued growth or attempting to stimulate it.
– For DMOs it may be worth considering initiatives that support year-round tourism development, particularly in the shoulder and off-peak seasons, to help better align with available airline capacity and smooth demand throughout the year.”
To download the report, follow the link HERE
