Germany, Italy, UK: Which European countries spent the most on tourism last year?

German, British and Italian tourists are among some of the highest spenders when it comes to travel.

That is according to the UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), which has tracked which countries spend the most, earn the most and where people went in 2023.

European countries are at the top of the ranking in a few of the categories – here are the results.

Which countries have the highest tourism spending?

Chinese tourists spent the most with their total in 2023 reaching around €183 billion. With borders reopened for international travel they overtook Americans, who spent €114 billion last year. A year earlier, tourists from the US took first place.

Germans were the third highest spenders, racking up a total of €104 billion, and Brits the fourth with €102 billion.

Canada, Italy, India, Russia and Korea complete the list of countries that spent the most on tourism in 2023, with Italy jumping from 10th to seventh place.

Which countries are making the most from tourism?

When it comes to earnings from tourism, the ranking is led by the US, which made €164 billion in 2023. It was followed by Spain, which earned €86 billion, the UK with €69 billion, France with €64 billion and Italy with €52 billion.

The United Arab Emirates, Türkiye, Australia, Canada, Japan, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Macao (China), India and Mexico complete the top 15 list of tourism earners.

What countries are tourists visiting?

Two European countries took the top spots for the most foreign travellers last year. France remained the most visited country in the world with 100 million international tourists. It is expected to repeat these numbers in 2024 as well with the Paris Olympics taking place in July and August.

Spain took second place with 85 million. They both came ahead of the US (66 million), Italy (57 million) and Turkey (55 million).

In total, seven of the 10 most visited destinations were in Europe with Italy, Germany and Austria filling out the list. It makes Europe one of the most sought-after regions, drawing the most international visitors worldwide.

China has also been a top destination for years but the number of visitors to the country has dropped dramatically since strict entry requirements were introduced during COVID-19. They fell from 65.7 million in 2019 to just 35.5 million in 2023.