World welcomes 12m more tourists

The number of people travelling internationally continued to increase in the four months of 2013. With tourist numbers having broken the one billion-tourist barrier for the first time in 2012, the UNWTO revealed yesterday that the world’s destinations welcomed 298m international travellers in January-April 2013 – 4.3%, or 12m travellers, more than the same period last year. And while all regions saw more visitors in the first four months of the year, the growth was driven by Asia Pacific, which achieved a 6% rise in tourists. Arrivals to Europe and the Middle East increased 5%, while Africa saw 2% more arrivals and the Americas increased 1%. By sub-region, Southeast Asia (+12%), South Asia (+9%) and Central & Eastern Europe (+9%) were the top performers. “International tourism continues to show an extraordinary dynamism,” said UNWTO secretary-general, Taleb Rifai. “The 4.3% growth in the number of international tourists crossing borders in the first months of 2013 confirms that tourism is one of the fastest growing sectors of our times, contributing in a central manner to the economy of a growing number of countries” he added. And demand for international travel is expected to grow in the summer months. From May to August 2013, the UNWTO estimates that the world will see 435m international tourists. Forward booking data reveals a 4% rise in international flight reservations, with the highest rates of growth deriving from Africa and the Middle East (+7%) and the Americas (+5%), followed by Europe (+3%) and Asia Pacific (+2%). For the full year 2013, international tourist arrivals are expected to increase by 3-4% – in line with UNWTO’s long-term forecast of 3.8% annual growth from 2010 to 2020. Source: Travel Daily