UN Tourism has shared its latest analysis of international travel trends, revealing that approximately 1.1 billion tourists traveled internationally during the first nine months of 2024. This remarkable figure brings the global tourism sector to 98% of pre-pandemic levels.
The insights, published in the latest World Tourism Barometer by UN Tourism, highlight the steady recovery of a sector aiming to leave behind the profound crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic by the end of the year. Despite ongoing uncertainties linked to economic challenges, geopolitical tensions, and climate issues, the tourism industry has shown resilience.
This recovery has been supported by strong demand, the resurgence of the Asia-Pacific markets, greater air connectivity, and visa facilitation measures. These favorable conditions have allowed most global regions to surpass the number of arrivals recorded in 2019 during the period from January to September 2024.
Global arrivals and performance by region
In the third quarter of 2024, global tourist arrivals reached 99% of pre-pandemic levels, boosted by a strong summer season in the Northern Hemisphere. The Middle East emerged as the standout region, recording an impressive 29% increase compared to 2019. Europe exceeded its 2019 levels by just 1%, while Africa reported a 6% growth over the same period. The Americas saw a recovery to 97% of pre-pandemic levels, while Asia and the Pacific, although lagging, reached 85% of 2019 levels, a significant improvement from 66% in 2023.
Among the best-performing destinations were Qatar, which registered an extraordinary increase of 141% compared to 2019, followed by Albania with 77% growth, Saudi Arabia with 61%, Curaçao with 48%, Tanzania with 43%, and both Colombia and Andorra with 36% increases.
Strong growth in tourism revenues
Tourism revenues have also shown remarkable growth. In the first nine months of 2024, 35 out of 43 countries with available data exceeded pre-pandemic revenue levels. Many recorded double-digit growth compared to 2019. Serbia saw an impressive 99% increase in tourism revenues, while Pakistan reported a rise of 64%, Romania 61%, Japan 59%, and Portugal 51%. Italy also registered a notable increase, with revenues up by 26% compared to 2019.
Spending by international tourists mirrored this trend, with strong growth observed in major markets. Germany recorded a 35% increase, the United States 33%, and France 11%. Meanwhile, the United Kingdom saw spending rise by 46%, and India recorded a substantial 81% growth in outbound expenditure. The average spending per trip continues to grow, driven by longer stays and an increasing demand for premium experiences. These trends underscore the sector’s dynamic recovery, which, despite facing significant challenges, is firmly on track to fully rebound by the end of 2024.
Commenting on the significant growth in tourism revenues, UN Tourism Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili highlighted the positive economic impact. “The strong growth seen in tourism receipts is excellent news for economies around the world,” he said. “The fact that visitor spending is growing even stronger than arrivals has a direct impact on millions of jobs and small businesses and contributes decisively to the balance of payments and tax revenues of many economies”.
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