UNWTO 2017 Tourism Barometer
UNWTO; International travel reached 1,322 million in 2017, an increase of 7 percent. According to data released by the UNWTO - the United Nations World Tourism Organization, the number of people traveling worldwide reached 1,322 million in 2017, an increase of 7 percent. This was the highest growth figure achieved in the last seven years since 2010. According to the report, this strong momentum will continue in 2018 with growth of 4 to 5 percent.
Mediterranean destinations played a particularly important role in this growth rate. The number of visitors to European destinations increased by 8 percent compared with 2016. African countries also recorded an increase of 8 percent last year compared with 2016. The increase figures recorded in other regions were as follows: Asia-Pacific 6 percent, the Middle East 5 percent, and the Americas 3 percent.
The strong rebound by destinations that had suffered significant losses in the previous period, and the significant increase in visitor figures, were the most important developments of 2017 in the international travel sector.
On the other hand, the secondary factors that played a role in this development were the “partial recovery in the global economy” and the subsequent “increase in the number of people traveling abroad from traditional and emerging markets such as Russia and Brazil.”
According to the forecasts of the UN World Tourism Organization, the international travel sector will record growth of 4 to 5 percent in 2018. Accordingly, this growth figure projected for 2018 will be above the 3.8 percent average growth figure projected by the UN World Tourism Organization for the 2010-2020 period.
In 2018, Europe and the Americas are projected to grow by 3.5 to 4.5 percent, Asia-Pacific countries by 5 to 6 percent, Africa by 5 to 7 percent, and Middle Eastern countries by 4 to 6 percent.
In 2017, the number of people traveling to European countries reached 671 million visitors, an increase of 8 percent.
Asia-Pacific region countries completed 2017 at 324 million tourists, a growth figure of 6 percent.
In 2017, the Americas hosted 207 million tourists, an increase of 3 percent.
According to the data obtained, Africa reached 62 million visitors in 2017, recording an increase of 8 percent.
Middle Eastern countries hosted 58 million tourists in 2017, an increase of 5 percent.
International tourism revenues, meanwhile, increased by 4.9 percent in real terms (adjusted for exchange rate fluctuations and inflation) in 2017 to 1,340 billion US dollars.
As an export category worldwide, tourism ranks third, after chemicals and fuels and ahead of automotive products. In many developing countries, tourism is the leading export category.
Top 10 countries by number of international tourists in 2017:
2016 ranking
1 – France – 86.9 million 1
2 – Spain – 81.8 million 3
3 – USA – 75.9 million 2
4 – China – 60.7 million 4
5 – Italy – 58.3 million 5
6 – Mexico – 39.3 million 8
7 – United Kingdom – 37.7 million 6
8 – Turkey – 37.6 million 10
9 – Germany – 37.5 million 7
10 – Thailand – 35.4 million 9
Top 10 countries by international tourism revenue in 2017:
2016 ranking
1 – USA – 210.7 billion USD 1
2 – Spain - 68 billion USD 2
3 – France – 60.7 billion USD 3
4 – Thailand – 57.5 billion USD 4
5 – United Kingdom – 51.2 billion USD 5
6 – Italy – 44.2 billion USD 7
7 – Australia – 41.7 billion USD 9
8 – Germany – 39.8 billion USD 8
9 – China – 35.6 billion USD 12
10 – Japan – 34.1 billion USD 11
Top 10 countries by international tourism expenditure in 2017:
2016 ranking
1 – China – 257.7 billion USD 1
2 – USA - 135 billion USD 2
3 – Germany – 89.1 billion USD 3
4 – United Kingdom – 71.4 billion USD 4
5 – France – 41.4 billion USD 5
6 – Australia – 34.2 billion USD 6
7 – Canada – 31.8 billion USD 7
8 – Russia – 31.1 billion USD 11
9 – South Korea – 30.6 billion USD 8
10 – Italy – 27.7 billion USD 9