1.5 billion tourist arrivals recorded in 2019 globally

Travel Biz News —

A total of 1.5 billion international tourist arrivals were recorded in 2019 globally, a 4 per cent increase on the previous year.

Growth of 3 to 4 per cent is predicted for 2020. Major sporting events, including the Tokyo Olympics, and cultural events such as Expo 2020 Dubai are expected to have a positive impact on the sector.

According to the first comprehensive report on global tourism numbers and trends of the new decade, the latest UNWTO World Tourism Barometer, this represents the tenth consecutive year of growth.

“All regions saw a rise in international arrivals in 2019. However, uncertainty surrounding Brexit, the collapse of Thomas Cook, geopolitical and social tensions and the global economic slowdown all contributed to a slower growth in 2019, when compared to the exceptional rates of 2017 and 2018. This slowdown affected mainly advanced economies and particularly Europe and Asia and the Pacific, “UNWTO said.

According to UNWTO, the Middle East has emerged as the fastest-growing region for international tourism arrivals in 2019, growing at almost double the global average (+8 per cent) .

Growth in Asia and the Pacific slowed down but still showed above-average growth, with international arrivals up 5 per cent.

Europe continues to lead in terms of international arrivals numbers, welcoming 743 million international tourists last year (51 per cent of the global market).

The Americas (+2 per cent) showed a mixed picture as many island destinations in the Caribbean consolidated their recovery after the 2017 hurricanes while arrivals fell in South America due partly to ongoing social and political turmoil.

Limited data available for Africa (+4 per cent) points to continued strong results in North Africa (+9 per cent) while arrivals in Sub-Saharan Africa grew slower in 2019 (+1.5 per cent ).

Tourism spending still strong

Against a backdrop of global economic slowdown, tourism spending continued to grow, most notably among the world’s top ten spenders.

France reported the strongest increase in international tourism expenditure among the world’s top ten outbound markets (+11 per cent ), while the United States (+6 per cent) led growth in absolute terms, aided by a strong dollar.

However, some large emerging markets such as Brazil and Saudi Arabia reported declines in tourism spending.

China, the world’s top source market saw outbound trips increase by 14 per cent in the first half of 2019, though expenditure fell 4 per cent.

Presenting the results, UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili stressed that “in these times of uncertainty and volatility, tourism remains a reliable economic sector”.

“Against the backdrop of recently downgraded global economic perspectives, international trade tensions, social unrest and geopolitical uncertainty, “our sector keeps outpacing the world economy and calling upon us to not only grow but to grow better”, he added.

January 29 , 2020

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