US, Aug. 17 -- Europe is not merely having another strong tourism year. It has become the center of gravity of the global leisure travel economy.

New Economic Impact Research released by the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) says Europe captured approximately $2 trillion of global leisure travel spending in 2025 - roughly one dollar of every three spent on leisure travel worldwide.

Global leisure travel expenditure reached $6.15 trillion last year, according to WTTC, increasing 3.5% year-on-year and representing 80.5% of total worldwide travel expenditure.

The headline numbers underline the extraordinary economic importance of Europe's tourism industry. But beneath them is a more complicated story for the summer of 2026.

Southern ...