World Tourism Numbers Reached 1.2 Billion Last Year

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MNI Alive

Release Date

Thursday, January 19, 2017

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International tourists rose by four percent worldwide to 1.2 billion in 2016 as Asians traveled more, but security fears hit visitor arrivals in Europe.

These numbers have been shared by the World Tourism Organization, and they represent "the seventh consecutive year of growth since 2009, when global tourism figures declined four percent as the financial crisis and an outbreak of swine flu saw cash-strapped people stay at home."

The number of people living in Asia and discovering both their own region and the rest of the world rose eight percent compared to 2015, the Madrid-based body said. The Asia-Pacific area, meanwhile, proved a popular destination—the second most visited region after Europe.

620 million tourists visited Europe last year, but the growth in the number of visitors to Europe has slowed due to security fears.

WTO chief Taleb Rifai said European results were "very mixed," with "other destinations recording "a double-digit growth rate and some others a flat rate."

The Americas registered a growth of four percent in visitor numbers, the body said.

Africa, meanwhile, recovered from a sharp drop in 2015 due to security fears, recording an eight percent growth. The Middle-East, however, saw a four percent drop in the arrival of tourists.

Rifai refused to give a much-anticipated ranking of the most visited countries, saying this would be unveiled at a later date.

In 2015, France ranked number one, followed by the United States and Spain.

Tourism represents 10% of global GDP, 7% of international trade and 30% of service exports, according to the WTO. Emphasizing how crucial it is worldwide, one in every 11 jobs comes from tourism, if direct and indirect posts are taken into account.


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