oui stars Travel Intelligence | Original research | Published 6 September 2026
France leads a new evidence-based comparison of Europe’s tourism-investment markets, narrowly ahead of Germany, with Spain, Italy and Austria completing the Top 5.
Europe is one tourism region but not one investment market. Demand, accommodation scale, development momentum, regulation and price stability vary sharply across countries. The oui stars Travel Europe Tourism Investment Index 2027 brings those forces together without relying on paid hotel-pipeline databases, announced mega-project values or invented observations.
What the index measures
The index evaluates tourism market value and activity, registered accommodation capacity, realised accommodation-capacity growth, regulatory quality and price stability. Market attractiveness and hospitality capacity each carry 35%, the investment environment 20%, and price stability 10%. No individual indicator exceeds 20%.
International air connectivity is not scored. The strongest freely available international series reflects passengers carried by nationally registered airlines rather than genuine destination accessibility. A misleading proxy would weaken the index.
The complete Top 10
- France, 79.75. The strongest overall market-attractiveness result and Europe-leading accommodation scale place France first. Stable rather than rapid capacity growth and a solid, not leading, regulatory result keep the score below the theoretical maximum.
- Germany, 79.05. Germany is the most balanced leading market, combining very large accommodation demand and capacity with strong regulation, moderate supply growth and comparatively controlled inflation.
- Spain, 71.64. Spain leads the cohort in tourism-market activity and has exceptional accommodation scale. Its exact position is sensitive to the balance between tourism size and regulatory conditions.
- Italy, 70.40. One of Europe’s largest tourism markets and the cohort’s largest accommodation-capacity base support fourth place, moderated by regulatory and price-stability measures.
- Austria, 65.14. Strong international tourism monetisation, substantial accommodation capacity, positive development momentum and a stable cross-scenario position produce fifth place.
- Netherlands, 63.12. A sizeable tourism market and one of the strongest regulatory environments combine with moderate capacity growth.
- Ireland, 59.18. Strong regulation, price stability and rapid realised capacity growth offset a smaller physical tourism-market base, making the exact rank weight-sensitive.
- Denmark, 55.90. The cohort’s strongest Regulatory Quality score and favourable price stability support Denmark, although its tourism scale is below the largest continental markets.
- Portugal, 55.69. Strong receipts, substantial accommodation use and positive capacity development place Portugal ninth.
- Sweden, 54.65. Strong regulation, substantial registered capacity and moderate tourism demand complete the Top 10.
Full 2027 ranking
| Rank | Country | Score /100 | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | France | 79.75 | HIGH |
| 2 | Germany | 79.05 | HIGH |
| 3 | Spain | 71.64 | LOW |
| 4 | Italy | 70.40 | MEDIUM |
| 5 | Austria | 65.14 | HIGH |
| 6 | Netherlands | 63.12 | HIGH |
| 7 | Ireland | 59.18 | LOW |
| 8 | Denmark | 55.90 | LOW |
| 9 | Portugal | 55.69 | MEDIUM |
| 10 | Sweden | 54.65 | MEDIUM |
| 11 | Belgium | 51.48 | MEDIUM |
| 12 | Czechia | 48.45 | HIGH |
| 13 | Greece | 45.14 | LOW |
| 14 | Finland | 43.27 | LOW |
| 15 | Croatia | 41.86 | LOW |
| 16 | Poland | 40.11 | MEDIUM |
| 17 | Luxembourg | 33.24 | LOW |
| 18 | Romania | 31.46 | LOW |
| 19 | Bulgaria | 28.23 | HIGH |
| 20 | Cyprus | 26.05 | MEDIUM |
| 21 | Malta | 21.30 | MEDIUM |
| 22 | Hungary | 18.17 | HIGH |
Why the five leaders stand out
France: scale with breadth
France combines monetised international demand with a deep accommodation ecosystem. It does not depend on one unusually strong growth rate, which makes the result more robust.
Germany: the balanced challenger
Germany finishes less than one point behind France. It performs strongly across both tourism fundamentals and the enabling environment rather than winning through a single variable.
Spain: tourism power, higher model sensitivity
Spain’s market and accommodation results are exceptional. Its LOW confidence label concerns rank sensitivity, not data quality: investment-environment-heavy models place it lower than tourism-led models.
Italy: Europe’s accommodation giant
Italy’s registered bed-place base is the largest in the eligible cohort. Regulatory and inflation results prevent physical scale from dominating the composite.
Austria: a stable Top 5 market
Austria combines a mature accommodation sector with strong receipts and positive realised capacity growth. It remains fifth or sixth throughout the tested specifications.
Key European findings
- France and Germany form the most robust leading group and remain in the Top 4 under every tested specification.
- Spain and Italy demonstrate the value of exceptional tourism and accommodation scale, but their exact ranks depend more heavily on the treatment of enabling conditions.
- Austria is the most rank-stable country in the Top 5.
- Ireland and Denmark show how strong regulation can compensate for smaller tourism-market scale.
- Rapid accommodation expansion alone is insufficient: demand, existing capacity and operating conditions still matter.
Read the method before using the ranking
The permanent methodology and source register explains eligibility, weights, normalisation, winsorisation, confidence labels, sensitivity tests and exclusions. The ranking should not be interpreted as a forecast of hotel returns or as a complete list of European countries.
Suggested citation: “According to the oui stars Travel Europe Tourism Investment Index 2027, France ranks first among the 22 eligible countries in the harmonised European cohort, followed by Germany and Spain.” Research product of oui stars Travel Intelligence. Analysis by Osama Samaha, Editor-in-Chief.
