Europe or long-distance travel? A comparison of ten years of travel behavior

Few figures illustrate the history of travel over the last ten years as clearly as this one: the proportion of travelogues from Europe compared to long-haul destinations. Before the pandemic, almost 80 percent of all reports came from other continents. In 2021, this ratio completely reversed—and to this day, long-haul travel has not returned to its previous levels.

The curve: Europe's share from 2017 to today

Three phases, three travel worlds

The years 2017 to 2019 were the heyday of long-distance travel: around four out of five travelogues came from overseas — work and travel in Australia and New Zealand, backpacking in Southeast Asia, road trips through North America. Travel blogs were primarily a medium for long-term travel.

Then came the turning point. In 2020, the share of long-distance travel almost halved, and in 2021, Europe reached its peak at nearly 65 percent—almost an exact reversal of the pre-COVID world. Motorhomes instead of round-the-world trips, the Alps instead of the Andes: Travel didn't decrease, it became more local.

Since 2022, long-distance travel has been recovering year after year—reaching almost 60 percent again in 2024. However, the pre-pandemic level of around 80 percent remains far from being reached. Part of the shift caused by the pandemic appears to be permanent: Short-distance travel has established itself as an equally important form of travel, and many people now routinely document city breaks or hiking weeks in the mountains.

Data source: all publicly available travel reports on Vakantio with assigned country, grouped by travel year (as of August 2026). Europe includes all countries of the continent, including Great Britain and Iceland. All figures represent percentages for the respective year, not absolute numbers.