For avoiding Europe’s busiest months, the data supports it, more in some countries than others. In 2025, 31.2% of EU tourist nights fell in July and August: 54.5% in Croatia, 21.8% in Malta. Outside Europe this page relies on half-year arrivals and Japan’s yearly totals, so it says less about timing. Prices are not covered.
How concentrated is peak season in Europe?
In 2025, 31.2% of all nights spent in tourist accommodation across the EU fell in July and August, on Eurostat’s data as updated on 22 September 2026.1 In every EU country, those were the two busiest months.2 Nearly a third of the year’s nights fell into a sixth of the calendar.
Across the EU, August had 3.6 times as many nights as January. In Croatia, August had 41.1 times as many as January, and in Greece 20.7 times.1
Revision note, 29 Sep 2026. The figures on this page now use Eurostat’s data as updated on 22 September 2026, with shares and ratios calculated by us. Eurostat’s news release of 7 July 2026, on the data available then, gave 31.1% for the EU, 21.9% for Malta and 24.0% for Germany, and an August-to-January ratio of 20.5 for Greece.2
Which countries have the sharpest peak?
Eurostat’s release names Croatia as the country where the seasonal pattern was most pronounced, followed by Bulgaria and Greece, and Malta, Germany and Finland at the other end, with the lowest shares of the top two months.2 On the updated data, Croatia put 54.5% of its 2025 nights into July and August, Bulgaria 43.4% and Greece 41.6%; Malta put 21.8% there, Germany 24.1% and Finland 24.1%.1
That changes how much a change of dates is worth. In Malta, August had 2.3 times as many nights as January; in Croatia, 41.1 times.1 On these figures, moving a trip out of July or August makes a much bigger difference in Croatia than in Malta.
Malta is at the least concentrated end of Eurostat’s ranking, while Croatia and Greece are at the most concentrated end.2
Is it cheaper?
This page cannot tell you. The official figures it uses count nights and arrivals, not prices, so we do not give a percentage for how much shoulder season saves.
If price decides it, one practical check: look up the same hotel for your peak dates and for dates a few weeks either side, and compare.
Europe
UN Tourism counts almost 350 million international tourists in Europe in the first half of 2026, a 3% increase. Southern Mediterranean Europe grew 4%, with some destinations benefiting from travel redirected from the Middle East. Central Eastern Europe also grew 4% and reached pre-pandemic levels, and Northern Europe grew 3%. Western Europe fell 1%, partly because of heatwaves in June and weaker long-haul demand in some destinations.3
Those are half-year totals. For timing, Eurostat’s monthly figures above are the closer guide; for every country, see Off-season in Europe: 35 countries ranked.
Asia and the Pacific
Arrivals in Asia and the Pacific grew 1% in the first half of 2026 but remained 11% below 2019 levels, which UN Tourism links to disrupted air connectivity, higher airfares and uncertainty. North-East Asia grew 3%, led by the Republic of Korea (+21%), while South Asia fell 5% and South-East Asia 1%. Oceania grew 4%, despite a 6% fall in June when typhoon Sinlaku affected some destinations.3
Japan’s own figures show where the pressure sits. Foreign guests spent 179.9 million nights in Japanese accommodation in 2025, up 9.4% on 2024.4 Those nights grew 19.1% outside Japan’s three big metropolitan areas, against 5.1% inside them, and the regions’ share rose from 30.9% to 33.7%.4
The three metropolitan areas cover eight of Japan’s 47 prefectures (Tokyo, Kanagawa, Chiba, Saitama, Aichi, Osaka, Kyoto and Hyogo) and still took 66.3% of foreign guest nights in 2025.4 On these figures, where you stay in Japan matters as well as when. For month-by-month figures for all 47 prefectures, see Off-season in Japan: 47 prefectures by month.
Africa
Africa grew 4% in the first half of 2026, which UN Tourism describes as the strongest growth among world regions. Sub-Saharan Africa grew 6% and North Africa 3%, with Morocco up 6% and South Africa up 12%.3
Some Indian Ocean islands were highly affected by reduced air capacity from Middle Eastern carriers. Mauritius grew 1% over the half-year but fell 4% in the second quarter, and the Seychelles had 14% fewer visitors, with a 20% fall in the second quarter.3
The Americas
The Americas grew 2% in the first half of 2026. North America, which accounts for over 60% of the region’s arrivals, grew 2%, with Mexico up 5% and Canada up 4%. Central America grew 15%, led by El Salvador (+37%), while the Caribbean was flat (0%) despite 10% growth in the Dominican Republic.3
South America fell 2%, yet Paraguay grew 34%, Bolivia 10%, and Argentina and Ecuador 8% each.3 Regional totals can hide wide differences between countries, so the country figure is the one to look at.
What these numbers do not tell you
Three things, and they matter.
Arrivals are not crowds. A country can take more visitors and still spread them more thinly, which is the direction Japan’s regional figures point. National statistics cannot see the queue at one temple gate.
Growth is not quality. Arrivals can rise for reasons outside a destination: UN Tourism links some of Southern Mediterranean Europe’s growth to travel redirected from the Middle East.3 That says nothing about whether a trip there is good.
Conditions change faster than statistics. Arrivals in the Middle East fell 22% in the first half of 2026, which UN Tourism attributes directly to the conflict in the region, and air travel disruptions through the Middle East were among the reasons it gives for fewer arrivals in South-East Asia in June.3 We report the tourism data because it is published. We do not give safety advice, and nothing here is a judgement about whether anywhere is safe to visit. For that, use your own government’s travel advice.
Key takeaways
- In 2025, 31.2% of EU tourist nights fell in July and August, the two busiest months in every EU country.
- Where you go changes how much a change of dates matters: Croatia put 54.5% of its 2025 nights into July and August, Malta 21.8%.
- Eurostat puts Malta at the least concentrated end and Croatia and Greece at the most concentrated end.
- In Japan, foreign guest nights in 2025 grew 19.1% outside the three big metropolitan areas and 5.1% inside them, which still took 66.3% of the total.
- What we would skip: any single percentage for how much shoulder season saves. The official figures on this page count nights and arrivals, not prices.
Sources
Every figure on this page was read in a saved copy of the source listed, on the date shown. All sources are public bodies.
- Source: Eurostat, Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments – monthly data (tour_occ_nim), doi:10.2908/TOUR_OCC_NIM. Dataset last updated by Eurostat on 22 September 2026; accessed 28 September 2026. Extract: number of nights, NACE codes I55.1–I55.3, all guests, January–December 2025, for the EU and six countries. Shares and ratios are our calculations.
- Eurostat, Summer peak: 31% of tourism nights in August and July, news release, 7 July 2026. Read it. Accessed 28 September 2026.
- UN Tourism, World Tourism Barometer, Volume 24, Issue 3, September 2026 (Excerpt), version 15/09/26. Read it. Accessed 28 September 2026. Quoted with the source given, as UN Tourism’s terms allow.
- Source: 「宿泊旅行統計調査」（観光庁） (Overnight Travel Statistics Survey, Japan Tourism Agency), 2025 annual figures (final), published 6 July 2026. Read the release and the results (PDF). Licensed under the Public Data License 1.0 (PDL1.0). 「宿泊旅行統計調査」（観光庁）を加工して作成: the English wording is our translation, by Gallivanting Gadabout. Accessed 28 September 2026.
Modified data. The Eurostat shares and ratios on this page are our own calculations from Eurostat’s monthly counts, rounded to one decimal place. Eurostat bears no responsibility for these calculations or for how the figures are presented here.