by James Ruggia
Last updated: 1:00 PM ET, Tue January 27, 2015
In 2014, for the fifth consecutive year, international travel abroad saw a significant increase. The UNWTO's World Tourism Barometer reports that international tourist arrivals (measured as overnight visitors) reached 1,138 million last year for a 4.7 percent increase over 2013; and 2015, promises to continue the trend. Since the recession of 2009 that depressed economies in Europe and North America, the curve has been steadily upward and while last year's increase of 51 million travelers over 2013 had definite regional winners, the abundance was relatively wide spread.
"Over the past years, tourism has proven to be a surprisingly strong and resilient economic activity and a fundamental contributor to the economic recovery by generating billions of dollars in exports and creating millions of jobs," said UNWTO Secretary-General, Taleb Rifai, from the Spain Global Tourism Forum in Madrid. "This has been true for destinations all around the world, but particularly for Europe, as the region struggles to consolidate its way out of one of the worst economic periods in its history."
Europe's inbound tourism performance should be stellar in 2015 with the Euro currently trading at $1.13 and with the UNWTO forecasting that overall international tourism will grow by 3 percent to 4 percent. Europeans will welcome a good year as they battle their way out of their economic doldrums. Though Europe generally posits modest growth rates in these kinds of annual rankings, its growth performance must be considered in the context that it is by far the most visited region in the world, attracting more than half of the world's arriving tourists.
In 2014, Europe grew by 4 percent, an increase of 22 million arrivals, reaching a total of 588 million. Northern Europe and Southern and Mediterranean Europe led growth (both +7 percent), while results were more modest in Western Europe (+2 percent). Arrivals in Central and Eastern Europe (0 percent) stagnated after three years of strong growth.
In 2014, "the Americas (+7 percent) and Asia and the Pacific (+5 percent) registered the strongest growth, while Europe (+4 percent), the Middle East (+4 percent) and Africa (+2 percent) grew at a slightly more modest pace. By subregion, North America (+8 percent) saw the best results, followed by North-East Asia, South Asia, Southern and Mediterranean Europe, Northern Europe and the Caribbean, all increasing by 7 percent."
Generally speaking, receipts usually follow a parallel curve to arrivals and 2014 is expected to follow that example when the revenue figures are released in April. In 2013, international tourism receipts reached $ 1,187 billion, some $230 billion more than in the pre-crisis year of 2008.
[BLURB]"We expect demand to continue growing in 2015 as the global economic situation improves even though there are still plenty of challenges ahead," - Taleb Rifai , UNWTO Secretary-General[/BLURB]
"We expect demand to continue growing in 2015 as the global economic situation improves even though there are still plenty of challenges ahead," said Rifai. "On the positive side, oil prices have declined to a level not seen since 2009. This will lower transport costs and boost economic growth by lifting purchasing power and private demand in oil importing economies. Yet, it could also negatively impact some of the oil exporting countries which have emerged as strong tourism source markets."
In 2015, the UNWTO forecasts international tourist arrivals to grow between 3 percent and 4 percent with Asia and the Pacific (+4 percent to +5 percent) and the Americas (+4 percent to +5 percent) leading the way, followed by Europe (+3 percent to +4 percent). Arrivals are expected to increase by +3 percent to +5 percent in Africa and by +2 percent to +5 percent in the Middle East.
International tourist arrivals in Asia and the Pacific (+5 percent) increased by 13 million to 263 million in 2014. The best performance was recorded in North-East Asia and South Asia (both +7 percent). Arrivals in Oceania grew by 6 percent, while growth slowed down in South-East Asia (+2 percent) as compared to previous years, which probably reflects Thailand's political crisis.
The Americas, driven by Mexico, was a powerhouse as the best performing region in relative terms with growth of 7 percent, welcoming an additional 13 million international tourists and raising the total to 181 million. Growth was driven by North America (+8 percent), where Mexico posted a double-digit increase, and the Caribbean (+7 percent). Arrivals to Central America and South America (both +6 percent) grew at double the rate recorded in 2013 and well above the world average.
The Middle East (+4 percent) "shows signs of rebound with good results in most destinations. The region attracted an additional 2 million arrivals, bringing the total to 50 million." Africa's numbers grew by an estimated 2 percent, or about a million arrivals. The region reached 56 million tourists. While arrivals to North Africa were weak (+1 percent), Sub-Saharan Africa saw international tourist numbers rise by 3 percent despite the Ebola Virus Disease outbreak in a few West African countries.
According to the UNWTO, the poor performance registered by highly touted emerging markets was compensated for by the return of traditional source markets. Expenditure from the U.S., the second largest outbound market in the world, grew by 6 percent. The total number of trips abroad from China, the world's largest outbound market spending $129 billion in 2013, is estimated to have increased by 11 million to 109 million in 2014. The Russian Federation decreased by 6 percent in 2014, while Brazil still grew by 2 percent, despite the appreciation of the U.S. dollar against the Brazilian real and slower economic growth.
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