1.1 billion tourists
The latest UNWTO World Tourism Barometer shows that international tourist arrivals tipped the 1.1 billion mark in 2014, representing a 4.7 percent increase on the year previous. The figure is 51 million greater than in 2013, and marks a fifth successive year of above average growth. “Tourism has proven to be a surprisingly strong and resilient economic activity and a fundamental contributor to the economic recovery,” said Taleb Rifai, UNWTO Secretary-General at the Spain Global Tourism Forum.
Positive 2015
The results in for the UNWTO’s Confidence Index suggest that the tourism industry is on course for another stellar year. Expectations are not quite as rosy as this time last year, but many expect arrivals to climb by another three to four percent in 2015, with the Americas being the strongest-performing region. “We expect demand to continue growing in 2015 as the global economic situation improves even though there are still plenty of challenges ahead,” writes Rifai in the report.
Demand from traditional sources picks up
Although emerging markets have been driving growth in tourism for a few years now, the slowdown in 2014 meant that it was left to traditional markets to pick up the slack. Tourism expenditure in France was up 11 percent on 2014, while spending in the US and Italy grew by six percent. Russia, meanwhile, has suffered at the hands of Western sanctions and currency woes recently, and tourist spending has fallen six percent as a result.
Europe stays strong
The number of tourists choosing to visit Europe increased four percent last year, and the continent has consolidated its position as the most visited region in the world. Over half – or 588 million – of all international tourists made their way to Europe, 22 million more than in 2013. Northern, Southern and Mediterranean Europe exhibited the highest gains at seven percent, whereas visitor numbers in Central and Eastern Europe stagnated after three years of impressive gains.
Tourists unconcerned by unrest
Although the data for Africa and the Middle East is limited, early signs show that the tourism market has continued to pick up steam, despite the Ebola outbreak in West Africa and civil unrest in certain parts of the Middle East. Two million more tourists head out to the Middle East, representing a four percent increase and bringing the total to 50 million, whereas an additional one million took to Africa, a two percent improvement on 2013.
