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INTERNATIONAL. Receipts from international tourism last year were in line with the increase in tourist arrivals, according to data released by the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).
Receipts grew by +4% in real terms in 2012 to US$1,075 billion, equal to the +4% increase in international tourist
arrivals which reached 1035 million in 2012.
The Americas recorded the largest increase in receipts, with +7%, while Asia Pacific (+6%), Africa (+5%) and Europe (2%) all also registered growth. However, receipts were down in the Middle East (-2%), although this was an improvement on the -14.4% decline recorded in 2011.
According to the organisation, the top 10 ranking of destinations by receipts remained “virtually unchanged” in 2012, with the United States, Spain, France, China and Italy leading, followed by Macau (China), Germany, United Kingdom, Hong Kong (China) and Australia.
Meanwhile established destinations also showed resilience, with strong growth recorded in the United States (+11%), France (+7%), Germany (+6%), the United Kingdom (+5%) and Hong Kong (China) (+14%). Other advanced economy destinations with growth rates of +10% or above included Sweden (+17%), Japan (+33%), the Republic of Korea (+14%) and Finland (+16%).
Among emerging economies, the destinations with the highest receipts growth were Thailand (+25%), India (+22%), Poland (+13%), South Africa (+18%), Egypt (+14%), Vietnam (+18%) and Ukraine (+13%).
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UNWTO Secretary-General, Taleb Rifai said: “It is encouraging to see that the growth in international tourist arrivals was equalled by a comparable increase in spending in spite of continued economic challenges.
“Considering that tourism is a key export for many economies around the world, this result is good news as it provides foreign reserves to destinations, and contributes to job creation in tourism as well as in related economic sectors.”
Europe saw US$457 billion in tourism earnings in 2012, equivalent to 43% of the world’s total tourism receipts, giving it the largest share by region. Meanwhile, destinations in Asia Pacific (US$323 billion) accounted for 30% while the Americas (US$215 billion) made up 20%.
In addition to the tourism receipts, another US$219 billion was recorded in receipts from international passenger transport, bringing total exports generated by international tourism in 2012 to US$1.3 trillion.
According to the UNWTO, international tourism (travel and passenger transport) accounts for 30% of the world’s exports of services and 6% of overall exports of goods and services. As a worldwide export category, it says tourism ranks fifth after fuels, chemicals, food and automotive products, while ranking first in many developing countries.
