Friday, 26 June 2026
Slovak residents made a record number of leisure trips abroad in 2025, while overall travel activity recorded only modest growth and remained below pre-pandemic levels, according to the latest survey released by the Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic.
Residents undertook 12.2 million trips involving at least one overnight stay for personal or business purposes during the year, representing a 0.3% increase compared with 2024. Despite the annual growth, the total remained 12.2% lower than in 2019, the last full year before the COVID-19 pandemic significantly disrupted international travel.
Personal travel continued to dominate tourism activity. Slovaks made 11.5 million private trips, accounting for approximately 94% of all journeys. These trips generated around 50 million overnight stays, slightly fewer than in the previous year. Business travel moved in the opposite direction, declining to 735,000 trips, while overnight stays linked to business travel fell by 37.4% year-on-year to 1.91 million nights.
Domestic tourism remained broadly unchanged
Domestic travel continued to account for the majority of personal trips, with Slovak residents making almost 6.9 million leisure journeys within the country during 2025. This represented only a marginal 0.3% decrease compared with the previous year, although the figure remained more than 10% below the level recorded in 2019.
Short breaks lasting between one and three nights remained the preferred choice, accounting for roughly three-quarters of all domestic holidays. Their number increased by 2.2% compared with 2024. In contrast, longer domestic stays of four nights or more declined by 7% year-on-year.
Demand for paid accommodation—including hotels, guesthouses and private rentals—continued to increase, rising 5% compared with the previous year and slightly exceeding pre-pandemic levels. The Statistical Office noted that the growing popularity of privately rented accommodation was a key contributor to this trend. Meanwhile, trips involving non-commercial accommodation, including visits to relatives and friends or stays in privately owned holiday homes, declined by 7.5%.
Leisure and recreation remained the main purpose of domestic travel, with holiday-related trips exceeding four million for the first time in six years. Visiting relatives and friends remained the second most common reason for travelling within Slovakia.
Private cars continued to dominate domestic transport, accounting for approximately 80% of all trips. Bus travel recorded the strongest annual increase, while rail transport also gained passengers. The Poprad district, including the High Tatras, remained Slovakia’s most visited domestic destination.
Overseas leisure travel reaches a new high
International leisure travel reached its highest level on record in 2025. Slovak residents made 4.6 million personal trips abroad, exceeding the previous peak recorded in 2019 by 5.1%.
Longer holidays remained the preferred choice, with trips lasting four nights or more accounting for more than two-thirds of all outbound travel. Around one in five international trips lasted longer than eight nights.
The strongest increase in overseas travel was recorded among people aged 25 to 44, whose total number of trips reached the highest level in the past seven years. In contrast, residents aged 65 and over travelled abroad considerably less frequently, with trips by seniors declining by 33% compared with 2024.
Cars remained the most frequently used mode of transport for international journeys, accounting for nearly 2.2 million trips. Air travel also continued to expand, reaching 1.7 million trips, approximately one-quarter higher than in the pre-pandemic year of 2019.
Czech Republic remained the leading destination
The Czech Republic remained the most visited foreign destination for Slovak travellers, attracting 972,000 overnight trips, representing more than one-fifth of all outbound leisure travel. Although visitor numbers increased slightly, the total number of nights spent there declined compared with the previous year.
Croatia retained second place and continued to record the highest number of overnight stays among Slovak visitors, reflecting its popularity for longer seaside holidays.
Other frequently visited destinations included Hungary, Italy and Poland, while Austria overtook Turkey in visitor numbers during 2025.
City breaks remained the most popular type of international holiday, accounting for 2.3 million trips, followed by seaside holidays with 1.8 million trips. Mountain destinations recorded the strongest annual growth, increasing by around 20% compared with 2024 and standing approximately 50% above pre-pandemic levels.
Travel costs remained well above pre-pandemic levels
Average spending on leisure travel eased slightly compared with 2024 but remained substantially higher than before the pandemic.
Average expenditure reached €219 per domestic trip and €690 per outbound trip, representing a marginal decline of around 1% for both categories.
Spending patterns differed according to trip length. Average expenditure increased by 10% for short domestic breaks lasting one to three nights, while spending on longer domestic holidays fell by a similar proportion. For international travel, average spending on short trips declined, whereas expenditure on holidays lasting four nights or longer increased slightly.
Compared with 2019, Slovak residents spent almost 50% more on personal travel, reflecting higher prices for accommodation, transport and tourism services.
The latest survey suggests that while domestic tourism remained broadly stable during 2025, demand for international leisure travel continued to strengthen, supported by growing use of air transport and sustained interest in city breaks, coastal holidays and mountain destinations.
