INTERNATIONAL. International tourist arrivals grew by +4% year-on-year between January and June 2016 according to the latest UNWTO World Tourism Barometer.
There were 561 million international tourists (overnight visitors) during the period.
“Tourism has proven to be one of the most resilient economic sectors worldwide,” said UNWTO Secretary-General Taleb Rifai. “It is creating jobs for millions, at a time when providing perspectives for a better future to people of all regions is one of our biggest challenges. But tourism is also creating bonds among people of all nations and backgrounds, bringing down stereotypes and fighting fear and distrust.
“Safety and security are key pillars of tourism development and we need to strengthen our common action to build a safe, secure and seamless travel framework. This is no time to build walls or point fingers; it is time to build an alliance based on a shared vision and a joint responsibility.”
Results by region
Asia and the Pacific demonstrated renewed strength, UNWTO said, with +9% more international arrivals. This was the highest growth across world regions and was driven by robust intraregional demand. Oceania (+10%) led growth, followed by Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia (both +9%) and South Asia (+7%).
International tourist arrivals to Europe grew by +3% between January and June 2016, with mixed results across destinations. Northern Europe and Central and Eastern Europe both recorded a +5% increase. Though many destinations posted positive results, growth in both Western Europe (+1%) and Southern Mediterranean Europe (+2%) was slow.
In the Americas, international arrivals increased by +4%, in line with the world average. Strong US outbound flows continued to benefit many destinations across the region. Central America and South America (both +6%) led growth, while arrivals in both the Caribbean and North America grew by 4%.
In Africa (+5%), Sub-Saharan destinations rebounded strongly, while North Africa continued to report weak results.
International tourist arrivals in the Middle East are estimated to have declined by -9% in the first half of the year.
Results for both Africa and the Middle East should be read with caution, as they are based on currently limited data available for these regions, UNWTO said.
Demand for travel
China, the world’s top source market, continued to report double-digit growth in expenditure on international travel (+20% in the first quarter of 2016), benefiting destinations in the region and beyond, UNWTO said.
The USA, the world’s second largest market, increased expenditure on outbound travel by +8% in the first half of the year, thanks to a strong currency. The third largest market, Germany, reported a +4% increase in expenditure.
Other markets that showed robust demand for outbound travel in the first half of 2016 were Spain (+20%), Norway (+11%), Australia (+10%) and Japan (+6%). Meanwhile expenditure from the Russian Federation and Brazil continued to be weak, reflecting the economic constraints and depreciated currencies in both markets.
