Human Company is proud to present the sixth edition of the Outdoor Tourism Observatory in collaboration with THRENDS, a company specialising in analysis and strategies in the tourism & hospitality sector. Starting this year, the study is embracing an international perspective, allowing us to analyse the dynamics of the "Big Six" of European open-air tourism (France, Germany, Spain, the Netherlands, Croatia and Italy) for the first time: a unique insight into the industry, aiming to provide a comprehensive vision of an increasingly strategic sector for the European economy. The Observatory has thus proved itself a vital asset to interpret the dynamics of the open-air sector, providing a clear understanding of the main trends and useful and exclusive tools to strategically analyse the evolution of open-air tourism in Italy and throughout Europe.
2026 promises to be a year of stabilisation for this type of tourism in Italy, which is preparing to welcome 68.4 million total visitors, with a marginal growth of 0.4% compared to the previous year. In line with the tourist flow trends in recent years, the sector is driven by foreign demand, which is expected to account for 37.8 million overnight stays (+13.9% compared to 2019): the data confirms a real structural trend, underlining Italy’s position as a reference destination for international travellers. In contrast, the domestic market appears more stable, with 30.6 million guests, which is still slightly below pre-Covid volumes (-9.2%). On the geographical front, Northeast Italy is expected to maintain a strong lead, receiving 31.5 million visitors (i.e. almost 46% of the total volume and a slight growth of 0.5% compared to 2025); followed by the Central region (16.7 million); the South and the islands (10.6 million); and the Northwest region (9.5 million).
Analysis of the data also allowed us to estimate the direct economic impact of the outdoor sector in 2026, which will stand at around 5.12 billion; this figure represents the contribution to the economy generated by the spending of tourists choosing outdoor options. The estimated value of direct tourist expenditure per capita per day was established at approximately 75 euros. By extending the calculation beyond direct expenditure to indirect and induced expenditure, we arrived at a prediction for the total economic impact of the outdoor sector of between 9.12 and 13.3 billion euros.
FACTORS IMPACTING NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL DEMAND
With regard to the external factors influencing the open-air sector, the current situation of deep geopolitical uncertainty is significantly affecting the choice of destinations, directing tourist flows towards destinations perceived as safer and more stable. Additionally, the economic pressure of inflation and the energy crisis is directly affecting travel budgets, increasing people's sensitivity to overall holiday costs. As noted in previous editions of the Observatory, environmental factors are also continuing to play a crucial role: climate change and frequent heat waves in the summer period are reshaping seasonal habits, leading travellers to shift their plans towards milder periods of the year.
Despite these challenges, the outdoor accommodation is undergoing clear improvements in terms of quality, thereby ensuring positive perception: in fact, the offer is increasingly aligned with hotels, seeing the introduction of services and comfort levels on par with the 3 and 4-star segments.
2025: A STABILISATION PHASE FOR ITALY & OUTDOOR TOURISM
Open-air tourism in Italy is continuing its post-pandemic recovery, as identified by the Observatory, which has provided the first overall vision of the sector: after the collapse of 2020, overnight stays reached 68.1 million in 2025[1]. In terms of domestic visitors (with a total of 30.6 million), Tuscany led the sector with 5.3 million overnight stays, followed by Veneto (3.7 million) and Emilia-Romagna (3.4 million); with regard to international demand (37.5 million), Veneto retained its lead, with 16.4 million guests (44% of the total), followed by Tuscany (3.9 million) and Lombardy (3 million). Overall, the Northeast has cemented its place as the leading macro-area in the sector, with 31.4 million overnight stays, equalling 46% of outdoor holidays in the country; this data highlights the strategic concentration of demand and the growing international attractiveness of these regions.
2025: THE EUROPEAN OUTDOOR TOURISM LEADERS
In 2025, tourism in the European Union reached about 3 billion guests, representing an increase of 2.2% compared to 2024. The main markets – Spain, Italy, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Greece – recorded growth of 7.3%, with more than 60% of guests concentrated in the first four countries (Spain, Italy, France and Germany), which were the only ones to exceed 400 million overnight stays.
For the first time, Human Company and THRENDS are also offering a comparative analysis of outdoor tourism across Europe in 2025[2]. In this segment, there were 413.2 million guests (+14.2%) and a 1.1% growth in visitors compared to 2024. France, Italy and Spain lead the way with 154, 54.1 and 50 million overnight stays respectively, followed by Germany (45 million), the Netherlands (27 million) and Croatia (22 million).
With regard to direct spending, France was the leading market (+85% compared to 2019, equal to 3.67 billion euros), while the Netherlands recorded the most interesting growth (+155.6% compared to 2019, i.e. 658.7 million euros).
Among these leading European outdoor markets, some key dynamics have emerged regarding domestic and international demand: the French market had a strong international component, although with shorter stays than in 2024 (30.6% of outdoor travellers were foreigners); Germany maintained a solid domestic base (foreign visitors accounted for 10.6%, with a Dutch majority); Spain was almost equally divided between domestic and international visitors (46.2%), with the latter mainly coming from Germany; Croatia confirmed its place as a strong international destination (with 96.3% of visitors from other markets); while the Netherlands recorded 31.1% foreign travellers in 2025.
"Now in its sixth edition, the Outdoor Tourism Observatory has cemented its place as a reference for the entire sector. It is more than just an analysis tool; it is a key to interpret the changes taking place, guiding future strategies and strengthening the dialogue between operators, institutions and stakeholders. This year marks a particularly significant step: for the first time, the Observatory has expanded its perspective beyond Italy’s borders to analyse the European context. We are therefore able to see the true scope of outdoor tourism: it is a structural and shared phenomenon, capable of generating economic, social and cultural value on a continental scale, as demonstrated by the 413 million guests recorded in 2025," explained Domenico Montano, General Manager of Human Company. "We have now passed the post-pandemic rebound phase and entered a year of consolidation in which growth can no longer be based exclusively on volume, but must rely on development and innovation with regard to the offer. In this context, Italy has confirmed its place as the second European market and an increasingly important player in terms of international demand. In this scenario, still marked by geopolitical and economic uncertainties, the unique qualities of open-air tourism have come to the fore: its ability to connect people, to build temporary but authentic communities, and to generate value for the surrounding areas, responding to an increasingly widespread need for authenticity, proximity and quality time."
“This very first European analysis of the world of open-air holidays has revealed that our continent (EU-28) is most likely the leading market in terms of overall demand, and a vibrant development centre for outdoor chains and entrepreneurs. Applying the Italian perspective of the outdoors to a broader European landscape has yielded several original ideas. It all began with our plan, shared with Human Company, to provide relevant data, KPIs and food for thought to the camping industry, enabling operators, governments and stakeholders to understand the importance of the growing need for outdoor stays and holidays, which re-emerged in the post-Covid era. In 2025, demand for outdoor activities accounted for 11.5% of the total tourism demand in Europe. Last year, overnight stays by tourists in campsites and holiday villages reached a total of 413 million. To get an immediate idea of the size of this market, we could hypothesise a very generic and simple opening period of 180 days or 6 months a year, and conclude that in the EU-28 nations, in 2025, an average of almost 2 million people were enjoying an outdoor holiday each night throughout the season. An impressive figure, but clearly, only a few countries are absorbing most of this promising market, namely France, Spain, the Netherlands, Croatia and, of course, Italy,” noted Giorgio Ribaudo, Managing Director of THRENDS.
METHODOLOGY AND SOURCES FOR THE OBSERVATORY
The Observatory focuses primarily on the outdoor sector, which, in this analysis, encompasses the camping and camping-village categories. The data used comes from different sources, and the collection process involved Istat, Eurostat and the competent offices of all the Italian regions and European countries analysed by the Observatory; a reading and analysis phase followed in order to evaluate the accuracy and comparability of the sources investigated; it was therefore possible to bring together values with different details in order to obtain an overall vision. The integration of different sources made it possible to analyse the sector at different levels of detail: Eurostat data was used for international comparisons, while Istat data was used to analyse outdoor tourism in Italy. For 2025, the surveys of the regional statistical offices were also used, giving rise to particularly innovative estimates, as these surveys are not yet included in official Istat publications. In order to estimate the visitor numbers, the model developed for the previous editions was reworked to better respond to the current situation.
[1] The forecasts in the 2025 Outdoor Tourism Observatory from Human Company and THRENDS gave rise to a minimal error of 0.8% (estimating that 67.5 million guests would arrive in 2025).
[2] The analysis does not include the United Kingdom.