… As Asia, The Pacific reopen to tourism
In 2022, the United States led the list of top spenders in international tourism, while France, Spain and the USA also took the top spots for most-visited destinations. However, in 2023, according to the World Tourism Barometer, China took over the position as top spender on international tourism as Asia and the Pacific consolidated its recovery from the impacts of the pandemic.
Looking ahead to a full recovery globally this year 2024, the latest World Tourism Barometer reveals that in 2023 international tourist arrivals recovered 89 per cent of 2019 levels and 97 per cent in Q1 2024. United Nations Tourism’s projection for 2024 points to a full recovery of international tourism with arrivals growing 2 per cent above 2019 levels, backed by strong demand, enhanced air connectivity and the continued recovery of China and other major Asian markets.
The total export revenues from international tourism, including both receipts and passenger transport, reached an estimated USD 1.7 trillion in 2023, about 96 per cent of pre-pandemic levels in real terms. Tourism direct GDP recovered pre-pandemic levels in 2023, reaching an estimated USD 3.3 trillion, equivalent to 3% of global GDP.
The top ten spenders for 2023 are Chinese as their expenditure on travel abroad reached USD 196.5 billion in 2023, ahead of the United States (USD 150 billion), Germany (USD 112 billion), the United Kingdom (USD 110 billion) and France (USD 49 billion), while Canada, Italy, India, the Russian Federation and the Republic of Korea.
Another remarkable rise was from India that jumped from 14th in 2019 to 8th place in 2023, confirming the growing importance of the country as a source market, while Italy rose from 10th to 7th position.
However, noteworthy is how France consolidated its position as the world’s most visited destination in 2023 with 100 million international tourist arrivals. Spain was second with 85 million, followed by the United States (66 million), Italy (57 million) and Türkiye, which closed the top five with 55 million international tourists.
Completing the top ten most visited destinations in 2023 are Mexico, the United Kingdom, Germany, Greece and Austria. Compared to before the pandemic, Italy, Türkiye, Mexico, Germany and Austria all rose one position, while the United Kingdom rose from 10th to 7th and Greece from 13th to 9th.
For international tourism receipts, the ranking is led by the United States, earning USD 176 billion in 2023, followed by Spain (USD 92 billion), the United Kingdom (USD 74 billion), France (USD 69 billion) and Italy (USD 56 billion).
Following the above, destinations earning the most from international tourism in 2023 include the United Arab Emirates, Türkiye, Australia, Canada, Japan, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Macao (China), India and Mexico which complete the top 15 list of tourism earners.
Upward movements in the ranking among the top earners include the UK jumping to the 3rd position from 5th pre-pandemic, the United Arab Emirates from 13th to 6th, Türkiye from 12th to 7th, Canada from 15th to 9th, Saudi Arabia from 27th to 12th, and Mexico from 17th to 15th.
Croatia (from 32nd to 25th), Morocco (from 41st to 31st) and the Dominican Republic (43rd to 34th) also moved up in the Top 50 ranking by receipts in 2023, as did Qatar (from 51st to 37th) and Colombia (50th to 44th).
