Here is a neat project I put together with a colleague recently. We set out to use EuroStat data to map the month to month cycles of tourism in the EEA (European Economic Area). Using the EuroStat tables, we put together a full decade of tourism trends within the EEA, showing the percent change each month, as well as the 2016 population-adjusted per capita tourism within each country.

Some insights to the maps that I felt were interesting:

• People seem to Love their January and February skiing holidays in Austria. I wonder if Switzerland looks the same during those months? 
• Iceland, Malta, Cyprus, and especially Croatia seem to have the most extreme tourism fluxes of any countries. It is worth noting that these countries all have relatively low populations, and in the case of Iceland and Croatia, they have been experiencing heavy tourism booms in the last decade.
• In Iceland, it is interesting to note that during the first years of the time series, there is a high flux rate (that is to say, most tourism took place during only a few months). This corresponded to the 'warm' Icelandic summer months that have historically been the time for most tourist visits. However, in the end of the time series, these fluxes seem to be decreasing, with a more steady yearly tourism rate. This could be referenced with the emergence of WOW airlines and their deals for off-season flights to and from Iceland, as well as more off-season events being advertised in the country such as Iceland-Airwaves
• Spanish and Portugese tourism actually increases during the winter months. Perhaps the snow-bird effect of Northern European citizens escaping the cold of their home countries. 
• Countries with traditionally large tourist populations such as Germany and France both seem underwhelming in these maps. This is due in part to their huge populations which minimizes the per-capita flux rates, and their relatively consistant yearly tourism.
• While the dates are not symbolized on the map (a stylistic choice), there is a direct response in tourism for every major terrorist attack in Europe. France saw a decrease in tourism after the Bataclan attacks, as well as after the Nice attacks. Belgium saw a decrease after their airport attacks and manhunt. It is interesting how aware tourists seem to be about these events, and how quick they are to change itineraries.

Future consideration for these maps is getting them smoothed out frame-rate wise, adding better legends (though I like the minimalism), as well as adding a statistically derived "On-Season / Off-Season" visualization for the time series analysis. Unfortunately the software I used to create these maps did not give me the functionality to add legends or time for the viewer. That is something I am currently working on improving

2D Percent Change in Tourism, Month-to-Month, 2008-2018

2D Total Tourists per Capita, 2008-2018

3D Percent Change in Tourism, Month-to-Month, 2008-2018

3D Total Tourists per Capita, 2008-2018

Short note: This last map is my personal favorite. It is almost breath-like to watch the seasonal variation of the region, as they expand with tourists and then deflate again. It is a really cool visualization that I personally have not found elseware.