Tourism: €572 billion gross value added in the EU

Tourism: €572 billion gross value added in the EU

In 2019, the last year before the COVID-19 pandemic heavily hit the tourism sector, the gross value added directly generated by tourism amounted to an estimated €572 billion, or 5% of the total gross value added in the EU economy. 

Among the countries for which data are available, the highest shares of tourism in total gross value added were observed in Croatia (11%), Portugal (8%), Spain (7%), Italy (6%) and Austria (5%). In absolute terms, the highest tourism direct gross value added was generated in Germany (€124 billion), followed by Italy (€100 billion) and France (€87 billion). (...)