Cyprus sees third highest EU rise in short-term rental stays

Cyprus recorded the third largest increase in the European Union for short-term rental accommodation in the second quarter of 2025, with a rise of 29 per cent compared with the same period of 2024, according to figures published by Eurostat.

This has placed Cyprus behind only Malta, which registered the steepest increase of 36 per cent, and Slovakia, which grew by 29.1 per cent.

The Eurostat figures showed that between April and June 2025, guests spent a total of 245.9 million nights in EU accommodation booked via the online platforms Airbnb, Booking and Expedia.

This represented an increase of 17.8 per cent compared with the same quarter of 2024 and 36.8 per cent compared with the second quarter of 2023.

In Cyprus, the second quarter results marked a sharp acceleration from the first quarter of 2025, when the country posted an increase of 8.4 per cent.

Eurostat pointed out that all EU countries reported increases compared with the second quarter of 2024, in contrast to the more mixed picture seen in the first quarter.

The strongest growth was recorded not only in smaller markets such as Malta, Slovakia and Cyprus, but also in major destinations.

Spain posted an increase of 19.7 per cent, Germany 19.6 per cent, France and Greece 17.8 per cent each, Poland 17.5 per cent, Portugal 16.0 per cent and Italy 15.1 per cent.

At the monthly level, Eurostat said that nights spent in short-stay accommodation surged by 34.3 per cent in April 2025, largely due to Easter holidays taking place that month.

Growth moderated to 5.3 per cent in May 2025 before rebounding to 18.1 per cent in June 2025, compared with their respective months in 2024.

The statistics office underlined that the data reflect a strong recovery in short-term rental accommodation across the EU, though the pace of growth varied by destination.

Eurostat also reported that in the first quarter of 2025, the most popular regions for short-term rental accommodation booked through online platforms were Canarias in Spain with 8.8 million nights, Rhône-Alpes in France with 8.1 million, and Andalucía in Spain with 7.7 million.

Among the top 20 regions, five were located in Spain and another five in France, three were in Italy, two each in Austria and Portugal, and one region each in Hungary, Poland and Greece.

“As the first quarter of the year already indicated, 2025 is looking like a promising year for tourism,” Eurostat said.