Published on : Friday, September 7, 2018
In total, international tourism arrivals grew to just over 1.3 billion in 2017, marking a 6.8% increase from 2016.
Two regions with the largest growth were Africa, with 9%, and Europe, with 8%. Europe received over half the world’s international tourism arrivals, 671 million, while Africa received less than a tenth of that amount, just 63 million.
International tourism spending was also up 5% globally, hitting $1.34 billion. Nearly 40% of that figure came from spending in Europe, followed by Asia-Pacific with 29% and the Americas with 24%.
The report found that Chinese outbound travelers spent nearly a fifth of international tourism spending – $258 billion – while the U.S. travelers came in second, with $135 billion. The report also noted that seven destinations ranked in the top 10 both in terms of arrival numbers and receipts (spending).
The main mode of transport for all these arrivals was by air, at 57%, followed by road at 37%, water at 4% and rail with just 2%. Leisure accounted for 55% of visits while business came in at just 13%. The other visits were for a variety of reasons like visiting relatives, health needs or religious observance.