European Flexible Accommodation Nears 1 Billion Nights: Spain Leads the Rankings with Andalusia at the Forefront

The Flexible Accommodation Europe consolidates its position as the undisputed engine of continental tourism. In 2025, travellers accumulated 951.6 million nights in short-stay accommodations booked through digital platforms, nearing the psychological barrier of one billion and marking a 11.4% growth% Regarding 2024 and a notable 32,4% compared to 2023, according to data published by Eurostat.

The last quarter of the year confirms that the trend is not seasonal: between October and December 2025, guests registered 172.3 million nights in accommodations booked through Airbnb, Booking or Expediawhich represents an increase of 10,9% year-on-year and a 30,2% over the same period in 2023. A sustained acceleration that no longer allows for cyclical readings.

On a geographical level, Spain, France and Italy They repeat on the national podium during the fourth quarter of 2025, consolidating the same order they already held at the end of 2024. But it is the regional data that offers the most strategic reading for the sector. The data from Third quarter of 2025 —the most recent one available regionally— reveal a very defined concentration map:

  • The most in-demand region in the entire EU was Adriatic Croatia (Croatia), with 27.7 million nights.
  • In second place, Andalusia reached 19.5 million nights, leading the Spanish rankings and consolidating itself as the main market for Flexible Accommodation from Southern Europe.
  • Third place went to Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (France), with 16.9 million nights.

Of the 20 most popular regions of the entire European Union, all belong to just 6 countries: France leads with 6 regions (including Île-de-France and Languedoc-Roussillon), Spain contributes 5 (Andalusia, Valencian Community, Catalonia, the Canaries, and the Balearic Islands), Italy adds 4 (Tuscany, Lombardy, Sicily and Lazio), and Greece, Portugal and Croatia complete the map with 3, 1 and 1 regions respectively.

It is worth remembering that this data has a recent history: its availability is the result of the data sharing agreements signed in March 2020 between the European Commission and the major digital platforms. Until then, apartments and holiday homes – the hard core of Flexible Accommodation— remained outside the radar of official tourism records, generating a structural statistical gap that hindered decision making for both operators and administrations.

For the sector, the implications are significant. A market that touches upon 1,000 million nights per year and grows at double-digit rates cannot continue to be treated as a marginal phenomenon by either regulators or institutional investors. Spain's prominence in the European rankings—with 5 regions among the top 20 most in-demand and Andalusia as the second region in the whole of the EU — reinforces the idea that the Spanish market is today one of the priority destinations for capital seeking exposure to Flexible Accommodation. The pending challenge is to convert that volume into a regulatory and product framework that guarantees the professionalisation and long-term sustainability of the sector.

The next edition Vitur Summit 2026 will take place in Malaga on Thursdays 13 and 14 May and will once again be the meeting point for operators, investors and companies in the sector to boost their business, establish strategic alliances with the different agents involved and gain access to all the latest news, trends and opportunities in the sector from leading speakers and companies.

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