About 1.1 billion tourists went on international travels in the first nine months of 2024. The world tourist sector recovered 98 percent of the level that preceded the pandemic. This is evidenced by data from the World Tourist Organization (Yunwo).
The report of the UN World Tourist Organization with the headquarters in Madrid says that “contrary to the economic, geopolitical and climatic problem, by the end of the year it is expected to restore the tourist sector after the largest crisis in history.”
Four years after the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, during which international trips ceased, in most regions of the world from January to September 2024, the number of arrival from abroad has already exceeded the same indicator of 2019, the report said.
A significant increase in the number of international arrivals in the first nine months of 2024 was due to high tourist demand in Europe, sustainable indicators of large markets around the world, as well as the continuing restoration in the Asia-Pacific region. Improving the air traffic and simplifying the visa regime in a number of countries also contributed to international trips, indicated in the Yunwo.
In addition, in the Yunwo they attracted attention to the growth of tourism income compared to 2019.
Among countries receiving the highest income from tourism, Japan – growth of 59 percent, Great Britain – 43 percent, Turkey – 41 percent, Spain – 36 percent, France – 27 percent and Italy – 26 percent.
“The rapid growth of tourism income is excellent news for economies around the world. The fact that tourists are growing even faster than the number of international arrivals is of great importance for millions of jobs and small enterprises and makes a decisive contribution to the payment balance sheet and tax revenues of many economies, ”said Zurab Pololikashvili, head of the World Tourist Organization.