In 2011, international tourism receipts exceeded US$1 trillion for the first time, up from US$928 billion in 2010.
According to the latest UNWTO Tourism Barometer, receipts grew 3.8% last year following a 4.6% increase in international tourist arrivals. This continues the rebound from the losses of 2009 and hit new records in most destinations, reaching an estimated US$1.03 trillion worldwide. This confirms the trend that receipts tend to lag behind growth of arrivals in times of economic hardship.
“These are encouraging results,” said UNWTO Secretary-General, Taleb Rifai. “The past two years have shown healthy demand for international tourism out of many markets, even though economic recovery has been uneven. This is particularly important news for countries facing fiscal pressure and weak domestic consumption, where international tourism, a key export and a labour intensive activity, is increasingly strategic to balancing external deficits and stimulating employment.
“We trust that governments worldwide will progressively recognise this and engage in measures that support tourism including fairer tax policies and the facilitation of visas and travellers’ movements, as these have proven to stimulate economic growth and job creation,” he added.
By region, the Americas (+5.7%) recorded the largest increase in receipts in 2011, followed by Europe (+5.2%), Asia Pacific (+4.3%) and Africa (+2.2%). The Middle East was the only region posting a decline (-14%).
Europe holds the largest share of international tourism receipts in absolute numbers (45%), reaching US$463 billion in 2011, followed by Asia Pacific (28% or US$289 billion), and the Americas (19% or US$199 billion). The Middle East (4%) earned US$46 billion and Africa (3%) US$33 billion.
Asides from international tourism receipts, the UNWTO noted that tourism also generates export earnings through international passenger transport. The latter amounted to an estimated US$196 billion in 2011, bringing total receipts generated by international tourism to US$1.2 trillion, or US$3.4 billion per day on average.
As a result, international tourism (travel and passenger transport) currently accounts for 30% of the world’s exports of services and 6% of overall exports of goods and services. As a worldwide export category, tourism ranks fourth after fuels, chemicals and food, while ranking first in many developing countries.
The performance of the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China) continued to stand out. China’s expenditure on international tourism increased by US$18 billion to US$73 billion, Russia increased by US$6 billion to US$32 billion, Brazil by US$5 billion to US$21 billion and India by US$3 billion to US$14 billion. Together, their increases accounted for an additional US$32 billion, a value equivalent to the eighth largest source market by expenditure.
Of the advanced economy source markets, Germany, Australia, Norway, Belgium and Canada reported the biggest absolute growth.
Destinations where international tourism receipts grew by US$5 billion or more in absolute terms include the US (increasing by US$13 billion to US$116 billion), Spain (by US$7 billion to US$60 billion), France (by US$7 billion to US$54 billion), Thailand (by US$6 billion to US$26 billion) and Hong Kong (by US$5 billion to US$27 billion).
Significant growth was also reported by Singapore, India and South Korea.
