The tourism industry seems to have rebounded from the slump caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the UN's World Tourism Organization's (UNWTO) year-in-review data for 2024, more than 1.4 billion people travelled internationally, representing a virtual recovery (99%) of pre-pandemic levels. The travel industry generated a revenue of $1.9 trillion in 2024 with each tourist spending $1,000 on average. In a statement, UNWTO mentioned that the numbers “represents an increase of 11% over 2023, or 140 million more international tourist arrivals, with results driven by strong post-pandemic demand, robust performance from large source markets and the ongoing recovery of destinations in Asia and the Pacific.”
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Top Travel Destinations in 2024
The footfall was marginally higher in Europe than even the pre-pandemic levels. The continent saw 747 million international arrivals in 2024.
France, which hosted the Olympics during the year, was the most preferred destination with over 100 million visitors. However, visitors to neighbouring Spain spend more than those in France. Tourists arriving in Spain spent $1.31 billion in comparison to those in France who spent $ 74 billion.
According to UNWTO, 316 million people traveled to Asia and the Pacific in 2024 whereas 213 million went to the Americas. The Middle East also managed to garner strong interest with over 95 million arrivals, a 32% increase from the pre-pandemic levels.
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Europe turned out a top travel destination.
Emergence Of New Players
The recovery in the tourism industry also came from countries that traditionally have not been popular choices. Countries like Kuwait, El Salvador saw a year-on-year upsurge of over 200% in tourism receipts in 2024. Saudi Arabia saw an increase of 148% more tourism receipts followed by Albania (136%) Serbia (+98%), the Republic of Moldova (+86%), and Canada (+70%), all in local currencies
Road To 2025
UNWTO expects the tourism industry to grow 3 % to 5% in 2025 compared to 2024, backed by the continued recovery of Asia and the Pacific and solid growth in most other regions. Around 64% of the UN Tourism Panel of Experts see 'better' or 'much better' prospects for 2025 compared to 2024. Some 26% expect similar performance in their destination, while only 9% believe 2025 will be 'worse' or 'much worse' than last year.
However, economic and geopolitical factors could pose some challenges to this growth expectation. In addition, extreme weather events and staff shortages are also critical challenges identified by the Panel of Experts of UNWTO.
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