Spending by foreign tourists in Romania exceeded EUR 5 billion in 2025, according to Eurostat data cited by real estate consultants at Colliers, almost 2.8 times higher than in 2016, representing an average annual growth rate of approximately 12% over the past decade, the fastest pace among all European Union member states.
Tourists from the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Italy made the largest contribution to foreign visitor spending in Romania. Together, they spent almost EUR 2 billion, accounting for around 40% of the total.
For the first time in 2025, American tourists were the biggest spenders, at EUR 554 million, slightly ahead of German tourists, who spent EUR 546 million, and British tourists, at EUR 518 million. Italian tourists came close to the same level, with spending of EUR 463 million.
At the same time, Japanese tourists recorded one of the strongest performances of the past decade, with their spending 13 times higher than in 2016, even though they started from a lower base than the main source markets.
Overall, although 2025 saw a slight decline of nearly 4% compared with the previous year, the long-term trend shows that Romania is gradually becoming a more visible destination for foreign tourists. The positive trend also continued at the beginning of 2026, when spending by foreign visitors increased by more than 8% in the first quarter compared with the same period in 2025.
Compared with other markets in Central and Eastern Europe, Romania has grown much faster over the past decade, but it remains a smaller market. Between 2016 and 2025, spending by foreign tourists increased in Bulgaria, Czechia, Hungary, and Poland at average annual rates of around 3%-5%, below the growth recorded by Romania.
However, Romania only slightly exceeds Bulgaria in absolute terms, while Hungary and Czechia attract around EUR 8-9 billion annually from international tourism, and Poland reaches almost EUR 14 billion.
”Romania is increasingly perceived as an affordable, less crowded destination, distinct from Europe’s established tourist routes. At the same time, the data also reflects a rebound in business tourism, but the main driver of growth in recent years has come from the leisure segment,” explained Raluca Buciuc, Director, Partner of Valuation and Advisory Services at Colliers.
This growth in international tourism comes at a time when the local hotel market is entering a new stage of development. According to Colliers, Romania could add more than 5,000 hotel rooms by the end of the decade, provided that the announced projects are delivered as planned. This expansion would represent an increase of around 5% in the existing total stock, with a more visible impact in the upper segment of the market, particularly in the 4- and 5-star categories, where many of the new hotel projects are concentrated.
Romania currently has approximately 42,000 rooms in 4- and 5-star hotels, and the announced projects point to growing interest in the upscale segment and in tourists with higher spending power. A significant share of the new developments will bring to the local market brands or hotel chains entering Romania for the first time, such as The Hoxton, Hyatt, Kempinski, Hotel Indigo, AC Hotels by Marriott, The Crest Collection, and The Julius.
In the medium and long term, Colliers consultants estimate that international tourism could become an increasingly important growth driver for Romania’s hotel industry, especially in a context where domestic demand may be affected by economic pressures, inflation, and consumer caution.
(Photo source: masezdromaderi|Dreamstime.com)
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