Published on : Monday, December 24, 2018
Several nations witnessed continued recovery. For example, Turkey showed signs of recovery from 2015, when security concerns saw visitor numbers go down from 39.5 million to 30.3 million.
In 2017, Turkey saw 37.6 million overseas tourists exploring its ancient sites or flocking to one of its beaches.
However, in 2018 looked the best with the UNWTO forecasting 46 million visitors, marking an increase of 22.4%.
Based on these figures, Turkey stands the chance to leapfrog the UK and Mexico, becoming the world’s sixth most visited country.
Tunisia is also resurgent. The terror attack in Sousse saw visitor numbers fall to 5.4 million in 2015. The numbers came back to 5.7 million in 2016, went up to 7.1 million last year, and are expected to increase again to about 8.3 million for 2018.
But which was the world’s fastest-growing travel destination in 2018? Although the final figures will not be confirmed for a few months, the majority of countries have supplied the UNWTO with data for the first nine months of the year.
Topping the chart for year-on-year growth is a South American nation that’s home to an Avenue of Volcanoes and a train journey called The Devil’s Nose: It’s Ecuador.
The country is predicting an increase in visitor numbers of 56.1%, from 1.6 million to around 2.5 million, and appears to be reaping the rewards of a long-term plan to boost tourism through marketing.
However, there are concerns that “over-tourism” might be putting Ecuador’s biggest draw, the Galapagos Islands, at risk. There is a cap on the number of cruise ships that can visit the remote archipelago, but land-based tours need to be limited.
Ecuador’s neighbor, Colombia, is also experiencing a tourism boom.