*By Tatiana Rokou
Event tourism in Europe recorded a 7% increase in 2025, with demand for live events boosting related tourism spending and economic impact.
Event tourism in Europe maintained positive momentum in 2025, with total event-related tourism spending growing by 7% year-on-year, reflecting the steady demand for live experiences and their contribution to local economies.
The data comes from a pan-European analysis by Mabrian and Data Appeal, companies of the Almawave Group. The study examines trends in event-related tourism spending in 12 European countries: Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.
Source: traveldailynews.gr
The analysis shows that the UK, Germany and France continued to account for the largest share of event-related tourism spending in Europe, supported by mature event infrastructure and strong international demand.
In year-on-year terms, Belgium recorded the largest increase in relevant spending at +20%, followed by the UK and Ireland at +10% respectively. In the UK, the increase in spending came despite a -6% decrease in the number of events, suggesting higher value events or increased spending per visitor.
During 2025, catering accounted for 48.4% of total event-related tourism spending, followed by hospitality at 33% and transport at 18.6%.
Source: traveldailynews.gr
“Over the last year, we have observed that this spending pattern is consistently repeated both across different types of events and across the countries analyzed. This highlights not only the breadth of the impact of events on the local ecosystem, but also the central role of gastronomy in the overall visitor experience,” said Mirko Lalli, CEO and founder of Data Appeal.
Greece tops the list of sporting events
Sports events and exhibitions emerged as the main drivers of event-related tourism spending, accounting for 41.4% and 29.4% respectively.
Exhibitions and trade fairs recorded the highest increase in related spending across all countries in the study, up 6.2 percentage points year-on-year. The increase reached +9.1% in Belgium, +5.7% in the Netherlands and +4.5% in Ireland.
In Greece, Ireland and Sweden, sporting events accounted for around 57% of total event-related tourism spending.
The data highlights four distinct patterns across Europe. Some countries, such as France, the UK and Spain, recorded increases in spending across almost all event categories. Other markets, such as Austria, Greece, Ireland and the Netherlands, saw strong growth in spending on sports events and exhibitions, despite declines in other categories.
Sweden and Switzerland showed mixed trends, while Italy, Belgium and Germany were close to the European average, with strong growth in MICE-related tourism spending, particularly on conferences and exhibitions.
Across the 12 countries studied, almost 90% of events held in 2025 were concerts, professional conferences and sports competitions. Sports events dominated in Spain, Belgium, Sweden and Greece, while concerts had a strong presence in Germany, Ireland and France. Conferences remained a mainstay in the UK and Italy.
“As events continue to grow in Europe, their true value lies in the wealth they create for local communities and their potential to redistribute tourism activity across regions and seasons,” said Carlos Cendra, Chief Marketing and Communications Officer at Mabrian. “To ensure these benefits, destinations need more than superficial historical data. They need predictive information that shows which events can create a meaningful impact and enhance local prosperity and economic resilience,” he added.
Source: traveldailynews.gr