STATEC: Luxembourg Residents Among Europe's Top Travelers in 2023

On Monday 19 August 2024, STATEC published new data from their recent study concerning tourism in Luxembourg and the tourist practices of residents.

Part of the figures presented below are taken from the European Tourism Survey. This survey is conducted quarterly by STATEC on a sample of 4,000 residents aged fifteen to 84.

In 2023, residents made 3.3 million trips and spent 22 million nights away from home. These results have never been as high as in 2023. The decline observed in 2020 during the health crisis will have lasted only as long as the health crisis. In 2021, the recovery was partial but by 2022, residents were back to a “frenetic” pace that is continuing in 2023, STATEC noted.

Inequalities in access to tourism are very significant in Europe. Luxembourg residents are among the biggest consumers of tourism in Europe. With approximately 5.5 stays per resident in 2022, Luxembourg is in third position in terms of the number of stays per resident per year, behind Sweden (7) and Finland (9). Taking into account the number of tourist nights per resident rather than the number of stays, Luxembourg then becomes the European Union country that travels the most with 35 tourist nights per resident per year, ahead of Sweden (30 nights) and Finland (25 nights). The other countries have much lower figures, ranging from three to five nights for Bulgaria, Romania and Italy, to sixteen to eighteen nights for France, Germany and the Netherlands. These figures are averages; disparities exist within the resident population of Luxembourg.

There are two types of tourist stays: business trips (14%) and leisure stays (86%). Among leisure stays, a distinction is made between holiday stays, which are the majority, and visits of family and friends.

The 2020 health crisis will not have had the same impact on each of these three types of stays. Family and friendly visits were the least impacted by the health crisis (-11% in 2020). As early as 2021, residents were making more family and friendly visits than before the health crisis. While one might be tempted to justify this increase by catching up or as a fallback solution in the face of the travel restrictions encountered in 2020, the practice continues to grow among the resident population. It would therefore seem that it is rather a need for more lasting friendly or family reunions, which was initiated by the health crisis, STATEC added.

Holiday stays were more heavily impacted the year following the health crisis (-33% in 2020). The 2019 level was not recovered until 2022, when almost all travel restrictions had been lifted. On the other hand, business tourism has still not recovered from the health crisis based on the level observed in 2019. Business tourism has recovered, slowly, but has still not returned to its pre-crisis level (-12% in 2023 compared to 2019). The health crisis has undoubtedly accelerated the evolution of business tourism, STATEC added. Residents are travelling less because the professional world has evolved towards other ways of communicating and training, in particular through the use of digital communication tools. In addition, inflation has undoubtedly slowed down the recovery, as have other reasons such as ecological concerns or cost reductions.

Local tourism takes place less than 300 kilometres from home. This notion appeared in the 2020 tourism survey, just before the pandemic, when the ecological impact of tourism was regularly raised in the collective mind.

There are significant disparities in access to tourism within the resident population. Advanced income and age are the two main reasons for this. Non-participation in tourism, i.e. not having taken any leisure trips during a year, is equal to 17% in 2023.

92% of leisure trips and 87% of business trips take place in Europe. In 2020 and 2021, long-haul trips were in decline due to the health crisis. In 2023, the pre-crisis level has been returned and the share of travel to non-European destinations, whether for leisure or business, is now higher than the level observed in 2019.

For business tourism (as for leisure tourism), the three border countries are the most frequent destinations in 2023, but they are slightly down compared to 2002: France (16%), Germany (15%) and Belgium (11%). Four countries, each hosting 5 to 7% of stays, are positioned behind the leading trio: the United Kingdom, Italy, Spain and Portugal. The recovery of business tourism was visible, STATEC noted: 6% of stays took place on the American continent (4% in the United States) and as many on the Asian continent (China, India, United Arab Emirates mainly).

Concerning leisure tourism, France is the preferred destination for residents (20%), probably due to its geographical proximity and its varied offers (city, sea, mountains, summer and winter). Germany (12%) is in second place and Belgium, is third (9%). But Luxembourg's geographical location, its international airport and the budget devoted to tourism allow residents to easily take holidays in southern Europe, Spain, Italy or Portugal (7 to 9% each).

In 2023, 52% of leisure trips were made by private car. The plane is the second preferred means of transport for leisure trips: 35%. The train and bus, considered more environmentally friendly, have little success: only 10% of trips take place using one of these means of transport. The maximum recorded through the tourism survey was in 2009: 14%.

68% of residents take advantage of their holidays or family or friends visits to relax, 45% to spend time with the loved ones they are travelling with, and 41% to spend time with the people they are meeting at their place of the trip. Residents also take advantage of their leisure stays to go on cultural visits (31%), play sports (28%), go shopping (28%), go to a show or festival (15%), or go to an amusement park (13%).

In 2023, residents spent €1,190 per person per leisure trip and €1,500 per person per business trip. These amounts include all costs incurred during the stay, whether they were the responsibility of the traveller or another person. The three main expenditure items for a stay are transport costs, accommodation costs, food costs, activities and shopping. A local trip is around 8% cheaper than another leisure stay, costing around €500 on average.

Concerning local tourism in Luxembourg, the year 2023 was once again a record year for attendance at the Mullerthal Trail. A total of 211,886 hikers were registered, an increase of 3% compared to 2022. Favourable weather conditions in spring and autumn contributed to this increase.

Furthermore, tourism in Luxembourg is picking up again. Arrivals in 2023 have finally surpassed arrivals in 2019. Throughout 2023, 1.4 million arrivals were recorded in Luxembourg accommodation, an increase of 9% compared to 2019, equivalent to almost 130,000 additional arrivals.

For more information on the tourism survey, visit the STATEC website: https://statistiques.public.lu/en/publications/series/en-chiffres/2024/tourisme-2024.html.