Last updated: October 7, 2022, by Grant Thomas
🔖Cite this webpage (Thomas, Grant. “Latest Europe Travel Data & Schengen Visa Statistics”. visasassociation.com, October 7, 2022, https://visasassociation.com/statistics/schengen-visa-statistics)
Note: The latest data available on the Schengen Visa applications and Europe travel is for 2021. We will update this page as soon as statistics and data for 2022 are available.
Highlights: Latest EU Travel Data & Schengen Visa Statistics
- In 2021, Schengen consulates received nearly 3,000,000 Schengen Visa applications (the same number of applications as in 2020).
- In 2021, Schengen consulates issued 2,400,000 visas (only 100,000 fewer than in 2020).
- Before COVID-19, consulates received anywhere between 15,000,000 – 17,000,000 Schengen Visa applications per year.
- In 2021, Luxembourg had the highest Schengen Visa approval rate (over 98%).
- In 2021, Sweden had the highest Schengen Visa rejection rate (over 30%).
- In 2021, France was the country with the highest number of Schengen Visa applications received (more than 22% of the total number of applications).
- In 2021, Russia had the highest number of Schengen Visa applications submitted (more than 18% of the total number of applications).
- In 2021, Europe recorded a 62% drop in tourist arrivals to Europe over 2019 levels.
- With 1.5 billion fewer passengers than in 2019, airlines lost 18.5 billion euros in 2021.
- Europe’s most popular tourist destinations had less than 50% of guest nights in 2021 compared with pre-pandemic levels in 2019.
- In 2021, Prague only had 18% of its 2019 guest nights.
- The tourist destinations that recorded more visitors in 2021 than in 2019 were small cities such as Orléans (+55.3%) and Ostend (+49.6%).
European Tourism Recovering in 2021
Thanks to the strong vaccination coverage in 2021, EU tourism started to recover after being hit particularly hard by the Covid-19 pandemic.
As limitations on movement were eased, the most important signs of tourism recovery were recorded during the summer of 2021 as highlighted by the number of nights spent in EU tourist accommodations compared with the same period of 2019: June (-51% in 2021, -70% in 2020), July (-29% in 2021, -40% in 2020), and August (-20% in 2021, -30% in 2020).
According to data from Eurostat, the statistics agency of the European Union, 2021 recorded a 34% rise in accommodation bookings via sites such as Booking, Airbnb, TripAdvisor, and Expedia Group.
However, after an optimistic recovery in the first three quarters of 2021, tourism in Europe stalled slightly due to the spread of the Omicron variant.
- In 2021, Schengen consulates recorded -1,739 fewer Visa applications compared with 2020 (a bare 0.05% drop)
- In 2021, Schengen Consulates issued 83% or 12,600,000 fewer short-stay Visas than in 2019.
- In 2021, 13.4% of Schengen Visa applicants were rejected (0.2% fewer than in 2020).
- Syria marked the highest Schengen Visa rejection rate in 2021 (over 50%).
- The number of nights spent at EU tourist accommodation establishments totalled 1.8 billion in 2021 (+27% compared with 2020 and -37% compared with 2019).
- The largest increases in the number of nights spent at EU tourist accommodation in 2021 compared with 2020 were recorded in Spain, Greece, and Croatia (over 70%).
- The largest declines in the number of nights spent at EU tourist accommodation in 2021 compared with 2020 were recorded in Latvia, Slovakia, and Austria (-18%).
- The countries where tourism was the most impacted when comparing the nights spent in 2021 with 2019 were Latvia, Slovakia, Malta, and Hungary, with drops of over 50%.
- Denmark and the Netherlands recorded drops of less than 20% in the number of nights spent in 2021 over 2019.
- Overall, the volume of monthly international tourist arrivals in Europe in 2021 remained below pre-pandemic levels.
- In August 2021, visitors spent 88.4 million nights in short-stay accommodation, representing 91.2% of the number recorded in August 2019.
- The number of international tourist arrivals in Europe increased by roughly 25% in 2021 in comparison with 2020.
- Europe recorded a slight increase in the number of nights spent by non-residents (32% in 2021 compared with 29% in 2020).
- In 2021, Europe recorded a share of guests from other EU countries of 24% (from 21% in 2020).
- With an increase of 11.7% in bookings in 2021 compared with 2019, Greece is the only country that surpassed pre-Covid levels.
- The contribution of travel and tourism to GDP in Europe amounted to 1,450 billion dollars in 2021 (+385 million dollars or 26% more than in 2020).
- In 2021, visitors spent 404,630 or 22% more nights in EU tourist accommodation establishments in comparison with 2020.Â
- In 2021, August was the peak month for overnight stays, accounting for 23.6% of all annual nights spent in EU tourist accommodation.
- Germany, Spain, France and Italy recorded the highest number of nights spent in EU tourist accommodation in 2021.
- In 2021, the expenditure of international tourists in Europe increased by nearly 24% over 2020.
- International tourism expenditure in Europe amounted to 303.8 billion dollars in 2021, with 56.8 billion dollars more than in 2020.
- In 2021, domestic tourism expenditure in Europe increased by 228.5 billion dollars or 25% in comparison with 2020.
- Leisure travel spending accounted for 84% of the total travel and tourism spending in Europe in 2021.
Schengen Visa Applications 2015-2021: Trends
- Between 2015 and 2021, the Schengen Visa approval rate varied between 93.8% and 86.4%.
- The Schengen Visa rejection rate was significantly higher in 2020 and 2021 in comparison with 2015.Â
- Between 2015-2021, Russia was the third country with the highest number of Schengen Visa applications submitted.
- China recorded a significant drop in the number of Schengen Visa applications submitted (179,000 or 86% fewer in 2021 compared with 2020).
- Between 2015 and 2021, India, Turkey and Morocco remained some of the countries with the highest number of Schengen Visa applications submitted.Â
- Between 2015-2021, France was the Schengen country with the highest number of Visa applications received.
- Greece recorded an increase in the number of Schengen Visa applications received in 2021 compared with 2020 (+184,000 or 62%).
- Italy recorded a drop in the number of Schengen Visa applications received in 2021 compared with 2020 (-81,000 or 28%).
- In 2021, Luxembourg was the country with the lowest number of Schengen Visa applications received (2,383 or 0.08% of the total number of Visa applications).
- Between 2019 and 2021, Luxembourg remained the country with the lowest number of Schengen Visa applications received.
- Estonia had the highest Schengen Visa approval rate in 2020 (98.5.%), while in 2021 the country with the highest approval rate was Luxembourg (98.8%).
- Portugal had the highest Schengen Visa rejection rate in 2020 (30%), while in 2021 the country with the highest rejection rate was Sweden (30.6%).
- Most Arab Gulf States had very low Schengen Visa rejection rates: Kuwait – 3.3%, Saudi Arabia – 4.3%, Qatar – 4.7%, Bahrain – 5.7%.
Top 5 Countries That Submitted the Highest Number of Schengen Visa Applications in 2021
Top 5 Schengen Countries That Received the Highest Number of Schengen Visa Applications in 2021
Top 6 Third Countries With Lowest Schengen Visa Rejection Rates in 2021
Top 5 Third Countries With Highest Schengen Visa Rejection Rates in 2021
Top 5 Schengen Countries That Received the Lowest Number of Visa Applications in 2021
Top 5 Schengen Countries with the Highest Approval Rates in 2021
Top 5 Schengen Countries with the Highest Rejection Rates in 2021
Sources:
European Commission – Statistics on short-stay visas issued by the Schengen States
Eurostat – Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments
Eurostat – EU Tourism Recovering in 2021
Eurostat – Tourism nights booked online recovered by 34% in 2021
Statista – Travel and tourism in Europe – statistics & facts
European Travel Commission – EUROPEAN TOURISM 2021 – TRENDS & PROSPECTS (Q4/2021)
The Data Appeal Company – European Tourism 2021: Summer Results & Autumn Forecasts
