The European tourism industry was hit dramatically by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 as the nights spent in the European Union's (EU) tourist accommodation establishments decreased by half compared to the previous year, the EU's statistical office Eurostat said on Monday.

A total of 1.4 billion nights were spent in the EU's tourist accommodation establishments last year, according to Eurostat, or a drop of 52 percent compared to 2019.

Among all EU members, Cyprus, Greece and Malta have seen the biggest slump, with the nights spent in the local tourist accommodation establishments decreasing by over 70 percent last year, whereas the Netherlands and Denmark have seen decreases of less than 30 percent.

The data showed the EU domestic tourism recovered faster than international tourism as the coronavirus containment measures had made traveling abroad much more difficult than traveling in the country of residence.

The overnight stays in tourist accommodation establishments by foreign tourists dropped by 68 percent in 2020 while the stays by domestic tourists fell by 38 percent, according to Eurostat.

Besides, among the different types of accommodations, hotels in the EU were worst hit by the pandemic followed by rented holiday accommodations, while campsites were much less affected.