• Middle East, Europe, Africa Leads Recovery
Based on recent data from the World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), overall global tourism recovered 87 per cent of pre-pandemic levels in January-September 2023. This puts the sector on course to recover almost 90 per cent by the end of the year.
The data shows that international tourism has almost completely recovered from the unprecedented crisis of COVID-19 with many destinations reaching or even exceeding pre-pandemic arrivals and receipts.
According to the data, an estimated 975 million tourists travelled internationally between January and September 2023, an increase of 38 per cent on the same months of 2022.
The newest UNWTO World Tourism Barometer also shows the following:
• World destinations welcomed 22 per cent more international tourists in the third quarter of 2023 compared to the same period last year, reflecting a strong Northern Hemisphere summer season.
• International tourist arrivals hit 91 per cent of pre-pandemic levels in the third quarter, reaching 92 per cent in July, the best month so far since the start of the pandemic.
• International tourism receipts could reach USD 1.4 trillion in 2023, about 93 per cent of the USD 1.5 trillion earned by destinations in 2019.
Remarking on this development, UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili said: “This development is critical for destinations, businesses, and communities where the sector is a major lifeline.”
However, the Middle East, Europe and Africa are leading the recovery level.
The Middle East led the recovery by regions in relative terms, with arrivals 20 per cent above pre-pandemic levels in the nine months through September 2023. The Middle East remains the only world region to surpass 2019 levels this period. Visa facilitation measures, the development of new destinations, investments in new tourism-related projects and the hosting of large events, help underpin this remarkable performance.
Europe, which is the world’s largest destination region, welcomed 550 million international tourists over the period, 56 per cent of the global total. That represents 94 per cent of pre-pandemic levels.
The rebound was supported by robust intra-regional demand as well as strong demand from the United States.
Africa recovered 92 per cent of pre-pandemic visitors these nine months, and arrivals in the Americas reached 88 per cent of 2019 numbers this period, as the region benefitted from strong US demand, in particular to Caribbean destinations.
Asia and the Pacific reached 62 per cent of pre-pandemic levels this period due to slower reopening to international travel. However, performance among sub-regions is mixed, with South Asia recovering 95 per cent of pre-pandemic levels but North-East Asia only about 50 per cent.
The World Tourism Barometer includes more focused data on regions, as well as sub-regions and individual destinations.
Several large source markets reported strong demand for outbound travel this period, with many exceeding 2019 levels. Germany and the United States spent 13 per cent and 11 per cent more respectively on outbound travel than in the same nine months of 2019, while Italy spent 16 per cent more through August.
The sustained recovery is also reflected in the performance of industry indicators. Drawing on data from IATA (the International Air Transport Association) and STR, the UNWTO Tourism Recovery Tracker details a strong recovery in air passenger numbers and tourist accommodation occupancy levels.
Against this backdrop, international tourism is well on track to fully recover pre-pandemic levels in 2024 despite economic challenges such as high inflation and weaker global output, as well as important geopolitical tensions and conflicts.
