Schengen Visas are Rising Again, but Europe Has Not Yet Returned to Pre-Pandemic Tourism Demand

The European Commission has published new statistics on short-stay Schengen visas: in 2025, consulates of the Schengen Area countries received nearly 12 million applications, which is more than a year earlier, but still significantly lower than the 2019 level. For tourists, this means that the demand for trips to Europe is recovering unevenly, and visa planning for the summer of 2026 remains an important part of the journey.

The latest data from the European Commission shows a cautious but noticeable recovery of interest in traveling to the Schengen Area among travelers who require a short-stay visa. By the end of 2025, consulates of EU member states and countries associated with Schengen received nearly 12 million applications. This is 1.8% more than in 2024, when 11.7 million applications were submitted, and 15.5% more than in 2023, when the figure was 10.3 million.

However, the main conclusion is not just that there are more applications. It is important that the market has not yet returned to the scale that was common before the pandemic. In 2019, Schengen countries received about 17 million short-stay visa applications. That is, even after several years of recovery, the current volume is still approximately one-third lower than the pre-pandemic level. For the tourism industry, this is a signal that international demand for Europe is growing, but not equally fast in all countries and not without administrative barriers.

What Exactly the New Statistics Showed

In 2025, Schengen Area countries issued over 10 million short-stay visas. This is 3% more than in 2024, when 9.7 million visas were issued, but still less than the 15 million visas issued in 2019. The overall refusal rate remained stable at 14.8%, meaning almost every seventh application on average did not result in a visa being issued.

Among the countries whose citizens applied for Schengen visas most frequently, China, Turkey, India, Russia, and Morocco remained the leaders. Chinese applicants submitted about 1.8 million applications, citizens of Turkey approximately 1.25 million, and India 1.15 million. These are followed by Russia with 679 thousand applications and Morocco with 620 thousand. These markets significantly shape the visa pressure on consulates and influence how quickly tourists can book a trip to Europe.

Separate attention should be paid to multiple-entry visas. In 2025, 51.2% of issued short-stay Schengen visas allowed multiple entry. This is approximately 5.1 million documents. The share of such visas decreased slightly compared to 2024, when it was 52.2%. For the tourism market, this is an important detail: a multiple-entry visa makes repeat trips easier, supporting city weekends, business trips, transit routes, and combined tours through several countries.

Why This Is Important for Tourists

The Schengen Area remains one of the world's main tourist magnets. In the State of Schengen 2026 report, the European Commission notes that in 2025, the region welcomed over 790 million travelers. This includes not only tourists with visas, but also citizens of countries with visa-free access, residents, business travelers, and other categories of visitors. But visa indicators specifically show how quickly long-haul and regional trips from markets where tourists cannot simply buy a ticket and head to Europe without prior permission are recovering.

For the average traveler, the new statistics have practical meaning. If the demand for visas increases, consulates and visa centers in popular application countries may fill available slots more quickly. This is especially noticeable before the summer season, Christmas holidays, major sporting and cultural events, as well as in countries where demand traditionally exceeds the supply of available appointment dates for submitting documents. Even if the rules have not changed, the actual availability of an appointment can become a bottleneck for the entire trip.

For tourists from countries where the refusal rate is high or changing rapidly, it is important to allow more time for preparing documents and not to purchase non-refundable services without considering the visa risk. The European Commission reported that the overall refusal rate remained at 14.8%, but the situation varies significantly by individual countries. For example, the refusal rate decreased for applicants from Russia, Algeria, and Ethiopia, but increased for Cape Verde, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Senegal, and Burundi. This does not mean an automatic refusal for a specific tourist, but it shows that the statistical risk depends on the country of application, the applicant's profile, and the quality of the documents.

How Visa Statistics Affect Flights

A short-stay Schengen visa is directly linked to aviation demand. When the number of applications increases, more travelers plan trips to major European hubs, and airlines have grounds to more actively sell seats on routes to Paris, Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Rome, Madrid, and other destinations. For those already planning a route, it is useful to check not only visa deadlines but also schedules, connections, and flight statuses at key airports.

For example, travelers flying through France can look to Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG), and for trips through Germany, to Frankfurt Airport (FRA). For destinations in Italy, Spain, and the Netherlands, appropriate entry points remain Rome-Fiumicino (FCO), Madrid-Barajas (MAD), and Amsterdam Schiphol (AMS). If a trip is tied to a specific date after receiving a visa, it is worth additionally checking the online boards of major hubs, specifically the CDG board or the FRA board, to react to flight changes in time.

For airlines and tour operators, these statistics also matter. The growth in applications means that markets in China, Turkey, India, Morocco, and other countries are again more actively planning for Europe. But since the volume of applications is still lower than in 2019, the industry cannot consider the recovery complete. Part of the potential demand is still restrained by travel costs, geopolitical factors, availability of air connections, exchange rates, visa slots, and uncertainty regarding new digital border procedures.

New Digital Borders Add Another Level of Planning

Visa statistics appeared against the backdrop of a broader restructuring of the rules for crossing the external borders of the Schengen Area. From April 10, 2026, the Entry/Exit System, or EES, is fully deployed at the external borders of Schengen. It replaces traditional passport stamping with digital registration of entries, exits, and entry refusals for third-country nationals traveling for a short stay.

For Schengen visa holders, this means that the visa itself does not cancel the border check. During the first entry after the launch of EES, a traveler's passport data, biometric identifiers, date, and place of border crossing may be registered. Subsequently, the system is intended to make control more predictable, but during peak load periods, the first registration may require additional time. That is why tourists should be more attentive to connections, especially if the route goes through a major hub with a subsequent flight or land crossing.

Another system, ETIAS, will concern not visa applicants, but citizens of countries with visa-free access to the Schengen Area and Cyprus. According to the European Commission, ETIAS is expected to start in the last quarter of 2026, and the exact date will be announced separately. This is an important distinction: tourists who need a Schengen visa will not apply for ETIAS for the same short-stay trip, but will undergo EES procedures at the border.

What Changes for Travel Planning in 2026

The new statistics do not introduce new rules themselves, but they help to understand the real situation before the summer season. Europe remains a highly demanded destination; however, the visa system operates under high load, and the border infrastructure is transitioning to digital procedures. Therefore, tourists should plan their trip as a sequence of dependent steps: first check visa requirements, then find an available window for submitting documents, then book a route with realistic connections, and only then fix secondary services.

Travelers planning to visit several countries in one trip should be especially careful. A Schengen visa allows movement within the zone without internal border control, but the application must be submitted to the country of main stay or first entry if the main country cannot be determined. Errors in the route, unconvincing bookings, an unclear purpose of the trip, or weak financial confirmations can increase the risk of refusal. Given that the average refusal rate is not decreasing, the quality of document preparation remains critical.

Tour operators, airlines, and hotels should read these data as a signal of a gradual but uneven return of demand. If the Chinese, Turkish, and Indian markets remain the largest sources of applications, they may provide a significant part of the growth for European cities, air hubs, and seasonal destinations. At the same time, the lower number of applications compared to 2019 means that competition for distant markets is not yet over, and the simplicity of the visa process can influence a tourist's choice no less than the ticket price or the popularity of a city.

Conclusion

The European Commission publication from May 28, 2026, shows that the Schengen Area enters the summer with recovering, but not yet fully rebuilt, visa demand. Nearly 12 million applications and over 10 million issued visas indicate a return of interest in Europe, but the lag from 2019, the stable refusal rate, and the launch of digital border systems make planning more demanding.

For tourists, the main advice is simple: do not treat the visa, flight, and border crossing as a formality that can be postponed until the last moment. European destinations are being actively booked again, but those who check rules in advance, prepare a full package of documents, leave a time buffer for EES procedures, and build a route with realistic connections will navigate the season best. For the tourism market, this is also an important indicator: Europe remains the strongest global destination, however, full recovery depends not only on people's desire to travel, but also on how predictable the path from visa application to actual entry will be.