The latest figures published by the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) on world tourism show an inter-annual increase of 5% in international tourist arrivals during the first nine months of 2018. These figures reflect the maintenance of strong demand in a favorable general economic context.

Photo: DR

All regions of the world benefited, in the first nine months of the year, from strong growth in international tourism, fueled by strong demand from major source markets. Asia-Pacific took the lead in growth (+ 7%), followed by Europe and the Middle East (both + 6%), then Africa (+ 5% ), the Americas bringing up the rear (+ 3%).

Despite relatively weaker growth from July to September, UNWTO estimates that destinations around the world received 1 billion international arrivals in the period up to September, or 83 million more than for the same period in 56.

The 2018 results to date are in line with the forecasts of the UNWTO expecting growth of + 4% to + 5% for the whole year. The first nine months of the year generally represent around three-quarters of the total annual international arrivals, bearing in mind that they cover the high season period in the Northern Hemisphere (July-August). For detailed results, please click here.

Positive growth in tourism receipts in most destinations

With few exceptions, preliminary data on international tourism receipts confirms the positive trend observed for arrivals, with particularly strong results in destinations in Asia and Europe.

At the top of the table for receipts, the UK shows a 12% increase in tourism receipts despite a drop in arrivals. In Australia, revenues increased 11%. France and Italy recorded an increase of 8% and 6% respectively in receipts, in line with their growth in arrivals. Tourism receipts in the United States of America, Spain and Germany increased by 3%.

In Asia, China posted a 21% increase in tourism receipts, with Macao (China) and Japan also leading the pack, which recorded 20% and 19% respectively in revenue growth.

International tourism spending

Preliminary data on tourism spending in the first nine months of 2018 reflects increasing demand from major source markets.

The Russian Federation (+ 15%) saw the largest increase in spending, continuing its sharp recovery after several years of decline. The UK is up 10% despite the weakness of the pound sterling against the euro and the US dollar. As for France, tourism spending climbs by 10% after several years of rather stagnant growth.

The United States of America, the second largest source market in the world, posted a 7% increase in line with the results of recent years. China, the leading source market, recorded a slight decrease in spending in the first six months of 2018 due to the depreciation of the yuan.

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