International Airport in Madrid, Spain. By the end of the year, global tourism will fully recover compared to pre-pandemic levels Economic Development
Around 1.1 billion tourists travelled internationally in the first nine months of 2024. The global tourism sector has recovered to 98 percent of its pre-pandemic levels. Even with economic, geopolitical and climate challenges, the sector is expected to fully recover from the worst crisis in its history by the end of the year, according to the World Tourism Organization.
Four years after the COVID-19 pandemic brought international travel to a standstill, most regions of the world have already surpassed 2019 arrivals between January and September 2024.
The organization’s report also shows significant growth in international tourism receipts, with most destinations for which data is available showing double-digit growth compared with 2019.
“The rapid growth in tourism receipts is good news for economies around the world. The fact that tourist spending is growing even faster than international arrivals is vital for millions of jobs and small businesses, and makes a crucial contribution to the balance of payments and tax revenues of many economies,” said World Tourism Organization President Zurab Pololikashvili.
Tourism Indicators by Region
The strong growth in international arrivals in the first nine months of 2024 was driven by strong tourism demand in Europe, resilient performance in major markets around the world, and continued recovery in the Asia-Pacific region. Improved air connectivity and visa facilitation in a number of countries also supported international travel.
The Middle East continued to post record growth (+29 percent compared to 2019) during the nine-month period, while international arrivals in Europe (+1 percent) and Africa (+6 percent) also exceeded 2019 levels.
The Americas saw a 97 percent recovery in tourism, while Asia and the Pacific saw a 85 percent recovery (the region will only reopen to international travel in 2023).
Tourism figures were strong in the Northern Hemisphere during the summer months, with global arrivals reaching 99 percent of pre-pandemic levels in the third quarter of 2024. A total of 60 destinations out of 111 reported higher than 2019 levels.
The most impressive performance was recorded by Qatar, where arrivals more than doubled by 141 percent, Albania (+77 percent), Saudi Arabia (+61 percent), Curaçao (+48 percent), Tanzania (+43 percent), Colombia and Andorra (+36 percent each).
Tourism receipts show extraordinary growth
A total of 35 of the 43 countries with available tourism receipts data exceeded pre-pandemic levels in the first eight to nine months 2024, many reported double-digit growth compared to 2019 (in local currencies), in most cases significantly above the inflation rate.
The best performers in terms of revenue growth were Serbia, where revenues almost doubled compared to the same months of 2019 (+99 percent), Pakistan (+64 percent), Romania (+61 percent), Japan (+59 percent), Portugal (+51 percent), Nicaragua and Tanzania (50 percent in each case).
Among the countries receiving the highest revenues from tourism, Turkey, France, Spain, Italy, the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia showed strong growth. In the United States, the world’s number one earner of tourism revenue, tourism revenue grew by 7 percent as of September 2024.
Tourist spending is also on the rise
Significant growth in tourism spending was recorded in the United Kingdom, Germany, Australia, the United States, Canada, Italy and France.
Tourism spending by Indians grew by 81 percent as of June 2024 (compared to 2019).
Problems persist
Despite strong growth, the global tourism sector continues to face challenges due to economic, geopolitical and climatic factors.
Inflation and fluctuating oil prices are driving up transportation and hotel prices. Armed conflicts, geopolitical tensions and extreme weather events also influence traveler decisions.
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