Airbnb: Athens in Europe’s Top 10 Spring Break Travel Destinations

Photo source: Airbnb

The Greek city of Athens ranks among the 10 most popular European destinations for spring break this year, shows data released by analytics experts AirDNA.

According to the report, the Greek capital city is high in the preferences of spring break travelers searching to book short-term accommodation on Vrbo and Airbnb platforms from the end of March until mid-April. Athens ranks seventh in the top 10 list, even recording an upward trend that exceeds 30 percent compared to the same period last year.

Italy and Spain remain the most popular countries for spring breaks for Europeans, according to AirDNA’s top 10 list. The top two destinations with the most year-over-year (YOY) demand growth so far are Bologna, Italy (up by 63 percent YOY), and Seville, Spain (up by 47 percent YOY).

A strong upward trend (over 40 percent) is also recorded by Budva in Montenegro (third place) and Bucharest in Romania (fourth place). Belgrade in Serbia comes in fifth most preferred spring break destination and is followed by Milan, Italy; Athens, Greece; Krakow, Poland; Madrid, Spain; and Turin, Italy.

According to AirDNA, the short-term rental market in Europe is on the rise with current demand up 16.9 percent year-on-year (YOY).

“European hosts have a lot to look forward to,” AirDNA says.

The data shows that May is already seeing a 28 percent YOY growth in demand pacing. The summer months (June – August) are currently seeing a 20 percent YOY growth in demand pacing.

February data

Moreover, AirDNA released data on February, which historically is one of the slowest months for short-term rental (STR) demand in Europe. However, as the data shows, demand growth during that month showed no signs of a slowdown.

Demand in Europe grew 20.7 percent YOY in February, a significant uptick from January’s 11.8 percent YOY growth.

Alongside demand growth, available listings remained on a rigorous growth trajectory, increasing 17.9 percent YOY. The occupancy rate increased 2.4 percent YOY to 51.2 percent as demand grew more than supply, falling just 1 percent below 2019 levels.

More specifically, occupancy grew from February 2023 to 2024 in 12 of the top 20 European countries.

Warm-weather destinations led occupancy growth in February as some travelers escaped cooler climates. Those seeking sun traveled to Spain, which saw a 30 percent YOY increase in demand and occupancy up by an impressive 10 percent YOY; and Italy, where demand grew 17 percent YOY and supply grew just 13.2 percent, leading to a 3.4 percent increase in occupancy compared to last February.

Travelers also sought colder climates and snowy slopes in February and traveled to Norway (demand at +56.3 percent, occupancy at +7.4 percent) and Sweden (demand at +38.8 percent and occupancy at +3.9 percent).

Greece sees occupancy decline in February

Meanwhile, according to AirDNA, supply growth in February in Greece, Ireland and Poland lagged by 10.2 percent, 3.9 percent and 3.8 percent respectively.

All three countries saw occupancy declines of over 3 percent, as YOY supply growth in each country far exceeded YOY demand growth.

A leading company in short-term rental intelligence, AirDNA boasts a platform powered by Vrbo and Airbnb data from over 10 million properties across 120,000 global markets.