Azerbaijanis, Kazakhs and Czechs are increasingly popular according to UN Tourism report.
In 2025, a number of new destinations in Central and Eastern Europe will be attracting the attention of international tourists as travel demand continues to grow.
Azerbaijan, among the 30 most popular tourism destinations, grew the fastest, with a 26% rise in bookings from May 2023 to April 2024, and between May 2024 to April 2025. Kazakhstan (7%) as well as the Czech Republic (6%), also experienced modest increases in bookings during the period.
The findings are revealed in a new report – Travel Insights 2025: Focus on Europe – published by Amadeus in collaboration with UN Tourism, drawing on data from Amadeus Navigator360™.
Javier Campo, Vice President of Commercial, Europe, Hospitality, Amadeus “Our research along with UN Tourism has unearthed fascinating results. Growth in air bookings is particularly notable for destinations like Azerbaijan Kazakhstan and the Czech Republic. It could be a result of a shift in traveler preference or targeted marketing.
Destination Marketing Companies may find it more valuable to explore how they can support the growing interest in less-known or emerging destination through storytelling, accessibility, or regional cooperation, converting curiosity into confirmed trips.
The top destinations continue to dominate
However, classic destinations still dominate the landscape. In fact, the top 10 destinations for air travel in Europe account for 70.9% (or all) of the trips booked between May 2024 and April 2025. Spain, Italy, France, and Germany were the top five.
Similarly, in terms of available seats to Europe by market, Spain and the United Kingdom each accounted for 12% of scheduled air capacity to the region for May 2024–April 2025, highlighting a continued dominance as European gateways.
Zurab Pololikashvili Secretary-General, UN TourismComments: “We are delighted to once again collaborate with Amadeus, a valuable Affiliate Member, to produce the first ‘Travel Trends – Focus on Europe 2025’. UN Tourism is committed to enhancing the market intelligence and access to strategic data for our members. It is now more important than ever that you have reliable and up-to date data to manage tourism effectively and prepare for a constantly changing tourism landscape.
European optimism
These developments are taking place against a backdrop of positive growth in the European hospitality industry. Amadeus Navigator360™ data reveals Western Europe – which includes Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, the Netherlands and Switzerland – recorded a modest increase in occupancy over the past year, rising from an average of 67% between May 2023-April 2024 to 68% between May 2024-April 2025. In the same time period, the average daily rate (ADR), across the region, rose from $198.32 up to $204.24
A similar pattern was seen in Northern Europe – covering Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom – with occupancy increasing from an average of 73% between May 2023-April 2024 to 75% between May 2024-April 2025. ADR increased over the same period from $197.77 up to $200.74.
The positive trend is evidenced by data from the airline sector, with worldwide passenger traffic to Europe seeing projected growth of 6.7% year-on-year for April–October 2025, signaling ongoing traveler interest in the region from across global markets.
Javier Campo, VP of Commercial, Europe, Hospitality, Amadeus adds: “Amadeus Navigator360™ data shows both traffic and capacity follow a familiar seasonal pattern, peaking in July and August, reflecting strong summer travel demand. Interestingly, for most of the timeline, capacity is consistently higher than actual passenger traffic, especially for the April–September 2025 period. This suggests that airlines are planning in advance of demand. Perhaps they anticipate continued growth, or even try to stimulate it.
To better align with airline capacities and smooth demand, DMOs may want to consider initiatives which support tourism year-round, especially during shoulder and off peak seasons.
About Navigator360™
The UN Tourism Report Travel Insights 2025: Focus on Europe Draws on data from Amadeus Navigator360™. The tool blends historical and forward-looking hotel, air and traveler sociodemographic data from Amadeus’ expansive business intelligence suite for a 360° view of the traveler journey.
Dashboards that are intuitive help destinations identify quickly what is happening on their markets. They include air searches, hotel reservations, emerging travelers, top source countries, visitor profiles, such as age, gender and nationality.The dashboards are designed to help destinations quickly identify what is happening in their market, including air searches, hotel bookings and emerging traveler. They also include top source markets as well as visitor profiles (age gender nationality etc.).
