Europe's event-driven tourism sector experienced a significant boost in 2025, with overall tourism spending increasing by 7% compared to the previous year. This growth underscores the enduring demand for live experiences and their substantial economic impact on local communities. The analysis, conducted by Mabrian and Data Appeal, highlights trends across twelve European countries, including Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, the UK, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland.
Belgium, the UK, and Ireland emerged as leaders in annual growth for event-related tourism spending. Belgium saw a remarkable 20% increase, whilst the UK and Ireland each recorded a 10% rise. Notably, the UK's spending increase occurred despite a 6% decline in the number of events, indicating higher-value events or increased spending per visitor.
In 2025, food and beverage accounted for nearly half of all tourism expenditure, followed by hospitality and transport. Sports and exhibitions were key drivers, representing 41.4% and 29.4% of event-related tourism spending, respectively. Expos, in particular, showed consistent growth, with spending rising by 6.2 percentage points across Europe.
The data reveals varied scenarios for growth in event-related tourism spending. Countries like France, the UK, and Spain saw spending rise across most event categories, whilst others, such as Austria and Greece, experienced strong growth in sports and exhibitions despite declines in other areas.
Carlos Cendra, Chief Marketing and Communications Officer at Mabrian, emphasised the importance of aligning destination event management with development and sustainability strategies. He stated, "To secure these benefits, destinations need more than historical surface-level metrics; they need predictive intelligence that reveals which events will generate meaningful impact."
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