People aged 25 to 44 years represent a share of 35% of the total population, while the same group accounts for 38% of all tourists. For the youngest age group (15 to 24 years), on the other hand, the percentages are identical. The oldest age group (65+ years) makes up the smallest proportion
of both the population and the number of tourists.

However, it can be assumed, given the prevailing
tendency of an ageing population, that this age
pattern will change within the coming decades.
Translating these numbers into the participation rate,
that is the share of the population taking part in
tourism, for the different age groups, the following
picture emerges: the youngest group (15 to 24 years)
is, with 55%, at the level of the overall average for the
EU-27; with 61% and 59% respectively persons aged
25 to 44 and 45 to 64 years show a participation rate
slightly above the average; while people aged 65 and
over tend to take less part in tourism, with only 41%
of them making at least one holiday trip of four nights
or more.

Approximately one tourist in three is between 25 and 44 years old

In 2006, 213 million Europeans went on holiday at
least once for four nights or more. Of these, some
80 million tourists are aged between 25 and 44
years. This is obviously a reflection of the fact that
this age group also makes up the highest
proportion of the total population.

Each age group as a share of the
total number of tourists who went on holiday for four
nights or more in 2006, both for the EU-27 and for
each country individually. Again, people aged 25 to
44 years make up the largest share of tourists in
nearly all Member States. To recap, they represent
38% of all tourists as an EU-average with the highest
proportion in Lithuania (48%) and Italy (44%). The
exceptions, however, are Belgium and Finland where
people between the ages of 45 and 64 make up the
largest proportion of tourists.

Younger tourists aged between 15 and 24 years
account for an average share of 15% of all tourists
Europe-wide, with the lowest proportion in France
(12%) and the highest proportion in Latvia (30%).
There is evidence that, in this younger age group, the
share of tourists tends to be higher for the new
Member States than for the old ones.

Additionally, in the new Member States, the oldest age
class measured as a percentage of the total number
of tourists is generally 5 percentage points or more
below the EU-27 average, except for Hungary. For the
two remaining age classes (25 to 44 years and 45 to
64 years) it is not possible to detect any particular
geographical difference. In five Member States, that is
Germany, Spain, France, the Netherlands and the UK,
the youngest group has the smallest percentage in the
total number of tourists. Nevertheless, people older
than 64 years represent the lowest proportion of
tourists in fifteen EU Member States.

The demographic trend suggests, however, that the
share of people older than 64 years in the total
population will increase in the long run.

Their share is expected to nearly double, reaching
30% by the year 2060. As a consequence, the share
of older people in the number of tourists will also grow.
Due to various influencing factors, e.g. improving
health conditions, their share will most probably
increase even faster than that expected on the basis
of the demographic trend. Furthermore, many people
who belong to the younger age groups nowadays
actively participate in tourism as most of them have
gone on holidays since childhood which is not always
the case for the current older generation. Thus, they
will most likely keep on travelling when they are older
which will also increase the share of older people in
the number of tourists.

In 2006, European tourists made 901 million trips in
total.4 Half of these trips were short trips lasting from
one to three nights, while the other half were longer
trips involving at least four overnight stays.

However, while this split is balanced on average in
the EU-27, there are marked differences between
the individual Member States. For example, 71% of
all trips made by Slovakian tourists lasted four
nights or more, while residents of the new Member
States generally tended to make short trips (lasting
one to three nights).

In Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg and the
Netherlands, more than 60% of all trips made by
residents lasted four nights or more, while
especially in Latvia, Finland and Hungary over 70%
of all trips were not more than one to three nights in
length.

In all age cohorts the majority make holidays in their country of residence

On a European average, 38% of the 438 million long
trips6 of four nights or more in 2006 were undertaken
by persons aged 25 to 44 years, while the age group
of 45 to 64 year-olds accounted for 32% of all trips.
The two other age classes each accounted for 15%
(see Figure 2). This approximately reflects the share
of each age group in the total number of tourists
(see Figure 1). This feature suggests that there is
little or no difference in the frequency with which
each age group participates in tourism, meaning that
all age classes travel to approximately the same
extent. In addition, it can be assumed that a positive
relationship between the number of tourists and the
number of trips does exist.

Of these 438 million long trips, tourists made 61%
within their respective country of residence, while
the remaining 39% were trips abroad (see Table 1).
In Belgium, Ireland, Luxembourg and Slovenia,
more than 70% of all trips were made to destinations
outside the country of residence. In Greece, Spain,
France, Italy, Poland, Portugal and Romania, on the
other hand, more than 70% of all trips were within
the borders of the respective country. The decision
whether to go abroad or to stay within the country of
residence is definitely influenced by the size of the
respective country, as well as by its geographical
location.

Consequently, this tendency is also reflected in all
four age groups, meaning that in 2006 European
tourists of every age group made more trips within their country of residence than to a foreign country.

On closer inspection, it appears that travel
behaviour in the individual Member States tends to
follow a consistent pattern in most cases: either the
majority of holiday trips throughout all age groups
are made to a destination abroad or the majority of
trips in all age groups are holidays in the respective
home country.

To illustrate: Spanish people of all age groups
make more trips within Spain than to destinations
outside the country. The same applies to people
from the Czech Republic, Greece, France, Italy,
Hungary, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Finland and
Sweden. In Belgium, Ireland, Luxembourg and the
Netherlands this situation is the reverse.

However, in six of the EU Member States, namely
in Germany, Lithuania, Latvia, Slovakia, Slovenia
and the United Kingdom, this trend is not
consistent across the age classes. While in
Slovakia the 25 to 44 year-olds predominantly go
abroad for their holidays, most of the trips made by
the other age groups are domestic trips. For the
most part Germans aged 15 to 24 years, 25 to 44
years or 45 to 64 years take their holidays outside
their own country; this does not apply, however, to
those aged over 64 years. The same pattern is
seen in Lithuania, Slovenia and the United
Kingdom. In Latvia, it is additionally the youngest
age group (15 to 24 years) who makes more
domestic trips than trips abroad.

The average European tourist made 2 trips in 2006

Generally speaking, people living in France,
Luxembourg, Latvia or Finland made at least 0.5
trips more than the EU-average. People from
Lithuania or Portugal, on the other hand, made at
least 0.5 trips less than the average European
tourist.

Grouping the European tourists7 by their age
produces the following picture: none of the age
classes stands out as differing notably from the EUaverage
of two trips per tourist. More specifically: in
2006, tourists aged either 15 to 24 years or 25 to 44
years made two trips on average, while the two
'oldest' age classes (45 to 64 years and 65 years or
above) made slightly more trips (2.1 trips in both
cases).

However, it should be noted that, although tourists
aged between 25 and 44 years make up the largest
share of all tourists, the older age
groups, i.e. persons older than 44 years, are taking
slightly more trips per tourist.