International tourism has made a near-complete recovery from pandemic-era lows, with 1.4 billion tourists traveling internationally in 2024, according to the latest World Tourism Barometer from UN Tourism. This figure represents 99% of pre-pandemic levels and marks an 11% increase from 2023.
The Middle East emerged as the strongest performer relative to 2019, recording 95 million arrivals — 32% above pre-pandemic levels. Europe maintained its position as the world's largest destination region with 747 million international arrivals, while Asia and the Pacific continued their recovery trajectory, reaching 87% of pre-pandemic levels with 316 million arrivals.
Tourism revenues also showed significant growth. International tourism receipts reached $1.6 trillion (USD) in 2024, representing a 3% increase from 2023 and 4% above 2019 levels when adjusted for inflation.
Several destinations reported substantial visitation increases compared to 2019, with El Salvador (+81%), Saudi Arabia (+69%) and Ethiopia (+40%) leading in growth. Among major tourism earners, the United Kingdom (+40%), Spain (+36%) France (+27%) and Italy (+23%) demonstrated especially strong performance in the first nine to 11 months of 2024.
"In 2024, global tourism completed its recovery from the pandemic and, in many places, tourist arrivals and specially earnings are already higher than in 2019," said Zurab Pololikashvili, secretary-general for UN Tourism. "Growth is expected to continue throughout 2025, driven by strong demand contributing to the socio-economic development of both mature and emerging destinations. This recalls our immense responsibility as a sector to accelerate transformation, placing people and planet at the center of the development of tourism."
Looking ahead to 2025, UN Tourism projects growth of 3-5% in international tourist arrivals. However, the organization notes that economic and geopolitical challenges persist, with transport and accommodation costs remaining primary concerns for the sector.
Editor’s Note: This article was generated by AI, based on a press release distributed by UN Tourism. It has been fact-checked and reviewed by a TravelAge West editor.
