Luxembourg residents are among the biggest consumers of tourist travel in Europe, second only to Sweden and Finland. The three border countries are the most popular destinations, both for vacation and for work, by the inhabitants of the Grand Duchy, France being the favorite. Portugal comes in fourth place among the most visited countries for leisure.
According to a report from the Luxembourg Statistical Office, which analyzes the most recent tourism figures in the country, if we consider the number of tourist nights per resident rather than the number of stays, “Luxembourg becomes the country of the European Union which travels the most (35 nights per resident per year), ahead of Sweden (30) and Finland (25)”.
Countries like Bulgaria, Romania and Italy show “significantly lower” figures, ranging from 3 to 5 nights. The neighboring countries of the Grand Duchy, such as France, Germany and the Netherlands, do not exceed 16 to 18 nights, according to data for the year 2022.
The country’s inhabitants have never traveled so much
The document, published this Thursday on the Statec website, also reveals that the country’s inhabitants have never traveled so much: in 2023, they reached a record number of trips, with 3.3 million trips made. In the same year, each resident took an average of 5.2 leisure trips per year and spent an average of 36 nights away from home for a leisure trip.
Border countries are the most popular
According to Statec, “92% of leisure trips and 87% of business trips were made in Europe”. The three border countries (France, Germany and Belgium) are the most popular destinations, both for vacations and for work. Portugal is the fourth vacation destination for residents of the Grand Duchy, but falls to seventh place for business travel. There is also an increase in business travel to non-European destinations, including the United States, China, India and the United Arab Emirates.
The car is the preferred means of transport for Luxembourgers for leisure trips, accounting for 52% of these trips. The plane is the second most attractive means of transport (35% of trips), followed by the train and the bus (only 10%), but the choice of air transport is increasing: residents have made a million trips by plane in 2023, compared to 840,000 in 2019 and 940,000 in 2022.
Luxembourg is the most economical destination
In 2023, residents spent 1,190 euros per person on leisure trips and 1,500 euros per person on business trips. Of all the possible destinations for local stays, Luxembourg is the most economical: 383 euros per person per stay or 109 euros per night.
The cost per night is more affordable in Belgium and France (150 to 160 euros per night), but the total cost is higher in France because local stays are longer (4.1 nights in France compared to 2.9 in Belgium ). Germany and the Netherlands are the two most expensive destinations (respectively 215 euros and 226 euros per person per night).
Luxembourg residents spent 3.381 billion euros in 2022, 89 million more than in 2021, with the majority of residents’ tourism spending taking place abroad. More precisely, 2,891 million euros were spent outside Luxembourg’s borders in 2022, or 86% of the total.
Also according to the Statec report, as of January 1, 2024, the Grand Duchy had 211 hotels, hostels and guesthouses, with a capacity of 7,742 rooms.
This article was originally published on the website Contact.
Adaptation: Megane Kambala
