Luxembourg recorded a total of 525,000 tourists in 2020, ranking 125th in the world in absolute terms.
That smaller countries regularly perform lower in a comparison of the absolute number of guests, is obvious. By putting the tourist numbers in relation to the population of Luxembourg, the result is much more comparable picture: With 0.82 tourists per resident, Luxembourg ranked 51st in the world. In Western Europe, it ranked 6th.
In 2020, Luxembourg generated around 4.45 billion US dollars in the tourism sector alone. This corresponds to 5.2 percent of its the gross domestic product and approximately 5 percent of all international tourism receipts in Western Europe.
On average, each of the tourists arriving in 2020 spent about 8,057 US dollars. Conversely, the inhabitants of Luxembourg spend only around 1,599 dollars a year when they themselves spend vacations abroad.
Development of the tourism sector in Luxembourg from 1995 to 2020
The following chart shows the number of tourist arrivals registered in Luxembourg each year. Anyone who spends at least one night in the country but does not live there for more than 12 months is considered a tourist. Insofar as the survey included the purpose of the trip, business trips and other non-tourism travel purposes have already been excluded. The number of people passing through within the same day, and e.g., crew members of ships or flights are also not considered tourists in most countries. If the same person travels in and out more than once within the same year, each visit counts again.
Revenues from tourism
In 1995, tourism revenues amounted to 1.70 billion USD, or about 8.1 percent of the gross national product. This corresponded to about 768,000 tourists at that time and roughly 2,207 USD per person. Within 25 years, the country's dependence on tourism has decreased slightly. Before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, sales were $5.65 billion billion, 8.1 percent of gross national product. Thus, each visitor spent an average of $5,423 on their vacation in Luxembourg.
In 2020, tourist receipts plummeted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Of the $5.65 billion billion (2019), only $4.45 billion billion remained. This is a 21 percent decrease in Luxembourg.
All data for Luxembourg in detail
Year
Number of tourists
Receipts
% of GNP
Receipts per tourist
2020
525,000
4.45 bn $
6.0 %
8,484 $
2019
1.04 m
5.65 bn $
8.1 %
5,423 $
2018
1.02 m
5.64 bn $
7.9 %
5,542 $
2017
1.05 m
5.47 bn $
8.3 %
5,231 $
2016
1.05 m
5.61 bn $
9.0 %
5,319 $
2015
1.09 m
6.18 bn $
10.29 %
5,672 $
2014
1.04 m
6.03 bn $
8.8 %
5,812 $
2013
945,000
5.63 bn $
8.6 %
5,957 $
2012
950,000
5.40 bn $
9.0 %
5,679 $
2011
874,000
5.36 bn $
8.7 %
6,130 $
2010
805,000
4.52 bn $
8.0 %
5,614 $
2009
847,000
4.55 bn $
8.3 %
5,367 $
2008
877,000
4.92 bn $
8.4 %
5,608 $
2007
914,000
4.35 bn $
8.4 %
4,760 $
2006
908,000
3.82 bn $
8.9 %
4,206 $
2005
913,000
3.77 bn $
10.01 %
4,129 $
2004
878,000
3.82 bn $
10.91 %
4,355 $
2003
867,000
3.05 bn $
10.28 %
3,519 $
2002
885,000
2.50 bn $
10.56 %
2,821 $
2001
836,000
1.78 bn $
8.3 %
2,129 $
2000
852,000
1.69 bn $
7.9 %
1,979 $
1999
863,000
1.70 bn $
7.7 %
1,966 $
1998
789,000
1.63 bn $
8.1 %
2,071 $
1997
778,000
1.64 bn $
8.4 %
2,107 $
1996
724,000
1.64 bn $
7.8 %
2,265 $
1995
768,000
1.70 bn $
8.1 %
2,207 $
Our data on tourist numbers, revenues and expenditures are based on information from the World Tourism Organization. However, to ensure international comparability, the data for some years or countries were manually researched and corrected if they obviously included visitors without overnight stays. In these cases, the data were taken from the official communications of the respective national tourism authorities.
The World Tourism Organization additionally points out that in some countries, the number of tourists is only counted at airports, while in others they are also counted at border crossings or even hotels. A comprehensive and reliable indication is therefore hardly possible in any country.