International tourist numbers around the world have shot up to more than 1.1 billion in 2014, according to the UN World Tourism Barometer.
The 4.7% increase came in spite of the economic woes in so many countries because of the Great Depression. Nevertheless, it was the fifth consecutive year of above average growth since the 2009 economic crisis.
Tourism has proven to be surprisingly strong and resilient and a fundamental contributor to the economic recovery by generating billions of dollars in exports and creating millions of jobs, the UN’s World Tourism chief Taleb Rifai said.
This was the case for destinations around the world, but particularly in Europe, he toldthe Spain Global Tourism Forum in Madrid.
The most visited region was Europe, but strongest growth in international numbers was in the Americas, especially in the US and Mexico, and in Asia.
Over half the world’s international tourists chose Europe which had an increase of 22 million arrivals, making a total of 588 million. Strongest increases were in northern and Mediterranean countries.
Visitor numbers to central and eastern Europe stagnated. The number of people travelling from Russia saw a 6% decline.
Sub-Saharan African countries appears to have had a 2% rise in numbers despite the Ebola outbreak in some parts. And the chaos in parts of the Middle East did not prevent more international tourists from visiting the region.
Revenue from international tourists is expected to be higher than it was in 2013 (the latest year for which figures have been published). Receipts then reached US $1.197 billion.
