Global Tourism Industry Continues Robust Growth

New figures released by the World Tourism Organization show that international tourist arrivals grew five percent during the first nine months of 2018.

The robust growth was experienced in all world regions, fueled by solid demand from major source markets, according to the UNWTO World Tourism Barometer report.

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Asia and the Pacific are experiencing the most significant growth with tourist arrivals up seven percent. Europe and the Middle follow slightly behind with a six percent increase in arrivals. Rounding out the list is Africa at five percent and the Americas at three percent.

Despite comparatively slower growth between July and September, UNWTO estimates that destinations worldwide received 1.083 million international arrivals through September, an additional 56 million compared to the same period of 2017.

The 2018 results to date are in line with UNWTO growth forecasts of four to five percent for the year.

“The first nine months of the year usually account for about three-quarters of total annual international arrivals, as they include the Northern Hemisphere high season months of July and August,” UNWTO said in a statement.

“With few exceptions, preliminary data on international tourism receipts confirm the positive trend seen in arrivals, with particularly strong results in Asian and European destinations,” the statement continued.

The new data also details the top-earning countries around the globe. The United Kingdom is among the leaders, reporting a 12 percent increase in receipts despite a decline in arrivals. Australia is another tourism powerhouse when it comes to earnings. Receipts there increased 11 percent, according to UNWTO.

France has realized an eight percent increase thus far in 2018, and Italy is up six percent. Tourism receipts in the United States, Spain and Germany have increased three percent.

In Asia, meanwhile, China recorded a 21 percent increase in tourism earnings, with Macao (China) and Japan also leading results with 20 percent and 19 percent growth, respectively.

The newly released UNWTO data also identifies which countries are major source markets for the travel industry.

The Russian Federation (+15 percent) reported the largest increase in spending and continues to recover strongly after some years of decline, said UNWTO.

The United Kingdom reported 10 percent growth despite a weak pound against the euro and US dollar, and tourism spending from France picked up 10 percent after some years of rather flat growth.

The United States, the world’s second largest source market, recorded a 7 percent increase, which is in line with the performance of recent years.

And in something of a surprise, the world’s top source market, China, showed a minor decrease in spending in the first six months of 2018 as a result of the weaker Yuan.