Among the Member States, the highest numbers of outbound holiday trips in 2011 were recorded by residents of Germany (73 million or 34% of holiday trips made by residents), the United Kingdom (44 mn or 38%), France (22 mn or 11%) and the Netherlands (16 mn or 52%). These four Member States accounted for almost two thirds of all outbound holiday trips made by EU27 residents. In a majority of Member States, most holiday trips were made within the country of residence, while half or more than half of all trips made by residents of Luxembourg (nearly 100% of all holiday trips), Belgium (74%), Slovenia (56%), the Netherlands (52%) and Austria (50%) were trips to a foreign country.
Top destinations for outbound trips are neighboring or nearby countries
In all EU27 Member States, the top destination of outbound holiday trips made by residents in 2011 was a neighboring or nearby country, except for residents of Romania (Italy was the top destination of outbound trips),Sweden (Greece) and the United Kingdom (Spain).
Among the top three destinations of outbound holiday trips, Spain was the preferred holiday destination for residents of Portugal (39% of outbound trips), the United Kingdom (21%) and France (18%), while France was the top destination for residents of Belgium (33%), Luxembourg (23%), Spain and Italy (both 16%), and Italy was the preferred destination for residents of Malta (32%), Austria (22%) and Romania (20%). In addition, Germany was the top destination for holiday trips abroad for residents of the Netherlands (18%), Poland (15%) and Denmark (14%).
