International tourism exceeds 2013 expectation

An additional 52 million international tourists travelled in 2013, exceeding the prediction for the year set by the UNWTO.

International tourist arrivals increased 5% last year with South East Asia seeing the most demand with 10% growth, followed by Central and Eastern Europe (+7%); Southern and Mediterranean Europe (+6%) and North Africa (+6%).

However Europe continued to see the most international visitors with an extra 29m arrivals in 2013, totalling 563m people. In contrast the Asia Pacific region received 248m international tourists in 2013, while the Americas saw 169m and Africa reached 56m.

Russia and China led the majority of growth last year, while the UK market was amongst four nations to have seen a 3% increase in travel.

These growing advanced markets also included the US, Canada and Australia.

The 2013 trends are expected to continue into 2014, with UNWTO predicting growth in tourism at between 4-4.5%.

However with 2013 beating the organisation’s estimates, it could be that the UNWTO’s 2020 number will be higher than the 3.8% growth estimate set in 2010.

“2013 was an excellent year for international tourism. The tourism sector has shown a remarkable capacity to adjust to the changing market conditions, fuelling growth and job creation around the world, despite the lingering economic and geopolitical challenges. Indeed, tourism has been among the few sectors generating positive news for many economies,” said UNWTO’s secretary-general Taleb Rifai.

With numbers still growing despite economic concerns, the UNWTO reiterated its call for governments to focus on tourism for economic benefit.

“The positive results of 2013, and the expected global economic improvement in 2014, set the scene for another positive year for international tourism. Against this backdrop, UNWTO calls upon national governments to increasingly set up national strategies that support the sector and to deliver on their commitment to fair and sustainable growth”, added Rifai.