Against the backdrop of an escalating eurozone sovereign debt crisis, up to 72 percent of European Union citizens took time to travel last year, while 80 percent said they would continue to do so in 2012, according to a latest Eurobarometer survey released here on Monday.

Among the 30,000 randomly selected citizens across Europe, a majority of them said they had chosen to travel within Europe and intended to do the same this year, the survey showed.

"Travel and tourism are powerful economic drivers for the European recovery," European Commission vice president Antonio Tajani said Monday, adding that the European tourism sector had growth last year despite the current economic difficulties in Europe.

Nearly half of respondents said they went traveling for rest and recreation, while 36 percent said they went for the sun and the beaches. Within the EU, Spain was the most visited country in 2011, drawing 11 percent of all tourists, followed by Italy and France, it showed.

The survey also showed that most people traveled by car and motorbike last year, despite a slight increase in the use of airplanes compared to the year 2010.