Mabrian and Data Appeal, both Almawave Group companies, have released an analysis showing Europe’s event-driven tourism sector maintained strong momentum in 2025.
It showed overall tourism spending increased by 7 per cent year on year, a growth reflecting sustained demand for live experiences and the considerable economic value they generate for local communities.
The analysis draws on data from twelve European countries – Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, the UK, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland – markets that together represent the bulk of event-related tourism spending on the continent and host many of Europe’s world-class live experiences.
When examining spending patterns, the UK, Germany, and France continued to concentrate the largest share of event-related tourism expenditure in Europe, supported by their mature event infrastructures and strong international appeal.
Moreover, three countries stood out for annual growth in event-related tourism spending: Belgium led with a notable +20 per cent increase, followed by the UK and Ireland at +10 per cent each. The UK’s rise in spending – despite a -6 per cent decline in the number of events – suggests higher-value events, increased spending per visitor, or a more effective event mix.
During 2025, food and beverage represented nearly half of all tourism expenditure (48.4 per cent), followed by hospitality (33 per cent) and transport (18.6 per cent).
“Over the past year, we have seen this spending pattern repeated consistently across event types and across the countries analysed,” Data Appeal CEO Mirko Lalli said. “This shows not only how widely events ripple through the entire local ecosystem, but also how central the culinary dimension is to people’s lived experience, whether they are just travelling, attending a sports event, or going to a concert.”
Sports and exhibitions accounted for 41.4 per cent and 29.4 per cent of event-related tourism spending respectively, according to data analysed.
Expos (trade shows and fairs) are the event category that recorded the most consistent growth in tourism spending in 2025 across all the European countries analysed, rising by +6.2 percentage points year on year, with growth reaching +9.1 per cent in Belgium, +5.7 per cent in the Netherlands, and +4.5 per cent in Ireland. In Greece, Ireland, and Sweden, sports account for around 57 per cent of all tourism spending related to events.
The data reveals four distinct scenarios for the growth of event-related tourism spending in Europe in 2025. The first includes countries where spending rises across almost all event categories – such as France (except for sports), the UK and Spain (excluding festivals). The second covers destinations where tourism spending around sports matches and exhibitions is increasing strongly despite declines in other categories, as seen in Austria, Greece, Ireland, and the Netherlands.
A third group, including Sweden and Switzerland, displays more mixed trends. Finally, Italy, Belgium, and Germany – broadly aligned with Europe’s overall performance – show a robust increase in MICE-related tourism spending, particularly in conferences and, above all, exhibitions.
Across the twelve European countries studied for this report, nearly nine in ten events held in 2025 were music concerts, professional conferences, and sports matches – though the distribution varies significantly by market and contributes to each destination’s strategic positioning.
Sports events dominate in Spain, Belgium, Sweden, and Greece, while concerts are particularly prominent in Germany, Ireland, and France. Conferences remain central in the UK and Italy. In the Netherlands, Austria, and Switzerland, sports and concerts together account for roughly two-thirds of all events.
“As events continue to grow across Europe, their true value lies in the wealth they create for local communities and their capacity to help redistribute tourism activity across territories and seasons,” Mabrian chief marketing and communications officer Carlos Cendra said. “That is why destination event management should be closely aligned with the destination’s development and sustainability strategy.
“To secure these benefits, destinations need more than historical surface-level metrics; they need predictive intelligence that reveals which events will generate meaningful impact. When grounded in robust, forward-looking data, event strategies become powerful tools for attracting the right audiences and investing in experiences that genuinely enhance local wellbeing and economic resilience, while appealing to key inbound markets.”
