EU countries by international tourist arrivals, 2021
France had the highest international tourist arrivals of 14 EU countries in 2021, at 48.4 million. Latvia had the lowest, at 477,648. The median was 7.26 million. Source: the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
Map of EU countries, 2021
- Under 1M
- 1M to 4.4M
- 4.4M to 9.2M
- 9.2M to 17M
- 17M and over
- No data
All EU countries, 2021
Full ranking
| Rank | EU countries | 2021 | Change on 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | France | 48,395,210 | +16.1% |
| 2 | Spain | 31,180,802 | +64.7% |
| 3 | Italy | 26,888,009 | +6.7% |
| 4 | Sweden | 10,259,767 | |
| 5 | Poland | 9,722,000 | +15.5% |
| 6 | Portugal | 9,616,700 | +48.4% |
| 7 | Denmark | 7,556,005 | +20.7% |
| 8 | Hungary | 6,972,873 | +5.3% |
| 9 | Czechia Provisional | 3,767,826 | -3.9% |
| 10 | Slovakia | 1,725,216 | -21% |
| 11 | Malta | 968,136 | +47% |
| 12 | Lithuania | 947,600 | +1.2% |
| 13 | Estonia | 808,203 | -21% |
| 14 | Latvia | 477,648 | -24.9% |
Other periods
About this ranking
Non-resident visitors who stay at least one night (tourists) arriving in the country. Spain and its regions: INE FRONTUR, by main destination region. Other countries, yearly: OECD inbound tourism table, from frontier statistics or visitor surveys.
Same-day visitors are not included; overnight and same-day visitors together are international_visitor_arrivals. The OECD series for Spain repeats FRONTUR. Countries count arrivals in different ways, so gaps between countries partly reflect method.
Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the EU countries are compared on one definition. 2 EU countries with data in other periods have no value for 2021 and are left out rather than filled from another source. Equal values share a rank.
How to cite
OECD. OECD Inbound tourism: arrivals of non-resident overnight visitors (tourists), tourism demand surveys and frontier statistics (DSD_TOURISM_INTER@DF_INBOUND). https://data-explorer.oecd.org/vis?df[ds]=dsDisseminateFinalDMZ&df[id]=DSD_TOURISM_INTER%40DF_INBOUND&df[ag]=OECD.CFE.TOU. Accessed 2026-10-12. Data reuse terms and downstream attribution: https://www.oecd.org/en/about/terms-conditions.html
Citation styles
APA 7
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. (2026). OECD Inbound tourism: arrivals of non-resident overnight visitors (tourists), tourism demand surveys and frontier statistics (DSD_TOURISM_INTER@DF_INBOUND) (EU countries by international tourist arrivals, 2021) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://data-explorer.oecd.org/vis?df[ds]=dsDisseminateFinalDMZ&df[id]=DSD_TOURISM_INTER%40DF_INBOUND&df[ag]=OECD.CFE.TOU
MLA 9
OECD Inbound tourism: arrivals of non-resident overnight visitors (tourists), tourism demand surveys and frontier statistics (DSD_TOURISM_INTER@DF_INBOUND), EU countries by international tourist arrivals, 2021. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, 12 Oct. 2026, https://data-explorer.oecd.org/vis?df[ds]=dsDisseminateFinalDMZ&df[id]=DSD_TOURISM_INTER%40DF_INBOUND&df[ag]=OECD.CFE.TOU. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/international-tourists/eu-countries. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.
Chicago (author-date)
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. 2026. OECD Inbound tourism: arrivals of non-resident overnight visitors (tourists), tourism demand surveys and frontier statistics (DSD_TOURISM_INTER@DF_INBOUND). EU countries by international tourist arrivals, 2021. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://data-explorer.oecd.org/vis?df[ds]=dsDisseminateFinalDMZ&df[id]=DSD_TOURISM_INTER%40DF_INBOUND&df[ag]=OECD.CFE.TOU. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/international-tourists/eu-countries.
Harvard
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (2026) OECD Inbound tourism: arrivals of non-resident overnight visitors (tourists), tourism demand surveys and frontier statistics (DSD_TOURISM_INTER@DF_INBOUND), EU countries by international tourist arrivals, 2021 [Dataset]. Available at: https://data-explorer.oecd.org/vis?df[ds]=dsDisseminateFinalDMZ&df[id]=DSD_TOURISM_INTER%40DF_INBOUND&df[ag]=OECD.CFE.TOU, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/international-tourists/eu-countries (Accessed: 12 October 2026).
BibTeX
@misc{organisation_eu_countries_by_international_2021,
author = {{Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development}},
title = {{OECD Inbound tourism: arrivals of non-resident overnight visitors (tourists), tourism demand surveys and frontier statistics (DSD\_TOURISM\_INTER@DF\_INBOUND): EU countries by international tourist arrivals, 2021}},
year = {2026},
howpublished = {Data set},
url = {https://data-explorer.oecd.org/vis?df[ds]=dsDisseminateFinalDMZ&df[id]=DSD_TOURISM_INTER%40DF_INBOUND&df[ag]=OECD.CFE.TOU},
urldate = {2026-10-12},
note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/international-tourists/eu-countries. Publisher attribution: OECD. OECD Inbound tourism: arrivals of non-resident overnight visitors (tourists), tourism demand surveys and frontier statistics (DSD\_TOURISM\_INTER@DF\_INBOUND). https://data-explorer.oecd.org/vis?df[ds]=dsDisseminateFinalDMZ\&df[id]=DSD\_TOURISM\_INTER\%40DF\_INBOUND\&df[ag]=OECD.CFE.TOU. Accessed 2026-10-12. Data reuse terms and downstream attribution: https://www.oecd.org/en/about/terms-conditions.html.},
}
RIS
TY - DATA
AU - Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
TI - OECD Inbound tourism: arrivals of non-resident overnight visitors (tourists), tourism demand surveys and frontier statistics (DSD_TOURISM_INTER@DF_INBOUND): EU countries by international tourist arrivals, 2021
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/12
PB - Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
DB - Invokely
UR - https://data-explorer.oecd.org/vis?df[ds]=dsDisseminateFinalDMZ&df[id]=DSD_TOURISM_INTER%40DF_INBOUND&df[ag]=OECD.CFE.TOU
L2 - https://invokely.ai/rankings/international-tourists/eu-countries
Y2 - 2026/10/12
N1 - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/international-tourists/eu-countries.
N1 - Publisher attribution: OECD. OECD Inbound tourism: arrivals of non-resident overnight visitors (tourists), tourism demand surveys and frontier statistics (DSD_TOURISM_INTER@DF_INBOUND). https://data-explorer.oecd.org/vis?df[ds]=dsDisseminateFinalDMZ&df[id]=DSD_TOURISM_INTER%40DF_INBOUND&df[ag]=OECD.CFE.TOU. Accessed 2026-10-12. Data reuse terms and downstream attribution: https://www.oecd.org/en/about/terms-conditions.html.
ER -
Use this data in your AI agent
Invokely serves this figure to AI assistants through MCP and to code through a REST API, with the source and citation attached. Ask your assistant:
Rank EU countries by international tourist arrivals using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"international_tourists","level":"country","within":"European Union (27)","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=international_tourists&level=country&within=European%20Union%20(27)&limit=10
Questions
Which EU country has the highest international tourist arrivals?
France, with 48.4 million in 2021, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
Which EU country has the lowest international tourist arrivals?
Latvia, with 477,648 in 2021.
Where does this ranking come from?
Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, OECD Inbound tourism: arrivals of non-resident overnight visitors (tourists), tourism demand surveys and frontier statistics (DSD_TOURISM_INTER@DF_INBOUND). Retrieved 2026-10-12. 2 EU countries have no value for 2021 and are not ranked.
International tourist arrivals: other rankings
EU countries: more rankings
- Spending by residents on overnight tourism trips
- International visitor arrivals (non-residents, overnight and same-day)
- Arrivals at tourist accommodation
- Average spending per overnight tourism trip by residents
- Enterprises in manufacturing
- Enterprises in transportation and storage
- Persons employed in wholesale and retail trade and repair of motor vehicles
- Household spending on transport per inhabitant (EUR)