December 31 (SeeNews) - Romania recorded the highest year-on-year growth among EU member states in the number of tourist overnights spent during the 2018-2019 winter season, the bloc's statistical office said.
Some 8.0 million nights were spent in hotels and similar establishments in Romania during winter season 2018-2019, up 8.6% compared with winter season 2017-2018 and well above the EU-28 average of 2.6%, Eurostat said in a report on Monday.
The 2018-2019 winter season ran from November 2018 to April 2019.
Croatia followed with a 7.4% year-on-year rise to 4.1 million overnights during the review period.
In Romania, overnights by non-residents contributed 22.8% of the total number of overnights spent in hotels and similar accommodation facilities during winter season 2018-2019, while in Croatia the percentage was 76.8%.
Elsewhere in Southeast Europe (SEE), Bulgaria posted a 0.2% rise in the total number of tourist overnights, as overnights by non-residents decreased by 0.6%, while those by residents increased by 0.8%. Data for Slovenia was unavailable.
Among non-EU countries in SEE, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia all recorded a rise in the number of tourist overnights spent in hotels and similar establishments in during winter season 2018-2019 - by 20.8%, 8.6% and 5.9%.