INTERNATIONAL. International tourism continued its post-pandemic recovery in the first half of 2025, with almost 690 million tourists travelling abroad between January and June, according to new data from UN Tourism. The number was up +5% year-on-year and about +4% against 2019 levels.
The tourist total was around 33 million higher than the same period last year, although performance varied widely across regions.
Africa delivered the strongest regional growth with a +12% rise in arrivals, driven by North Africa (+14%) and Sub-Saharan Africa (+11%).
Asia Pacific expanded +11% and reached 92% of pre-pandemic levels, with North-East Asia up +20% on last year.
Europe, the world’s largest destination region, attracted nearly 340 million international arrivals in the six-month period, +4% higher than 2024 and +7% above 2019.
Central and Eastern Europe rebounded strongly with +9% growth but still lagged -11% behind 2019 levels.
The Americas posted +3% growth, with South America performing best at +14%. Central America grew +2%, while North America and the Caribbean recorded flat results as demand from the USA softened.
The Middle East saw a -4% decline, though arrivals were still +29% above 2019, the strongest performance relative to pre-pandemic levels.
Several major destinations reported double-digit gains. Japan and Vietnam both grew arrivals by +21%, the Republic of Korea by +15% and Morocco by +19%.
France and Spain, the world’s top two destinations, each posted +5% growth. Mexico and the Netherlands advanced +7%, while Malaysia, Indonesia and Hong Kong all saw increases of between +7% and +9%.
Air travel also strengthened, with international traffic and capacity both up +7% in the first half of 2025 compared with last year, according to IATA.
Global hotel occupancy reached 69% in June, slightly below last year’s level, and 71% in July, matching July 2024.
Tourism receipts showed robust growth, with Japan reporting a +18% rise through June, the UK up +13% through March, France +9%, Spain +8% and Türkiye +8%.
Outbound spending surged from key markets, including China (+16% through March), Spain (+16%), the UK (+15% through March), Singapore (+10%) and Korea (+8%).
Across 2024, international receipts reached a record US$1.73 trillion, +14% above pre-pandemic levels in real terms.
Despite the strong figures, UN Tourism flagged economic and geopolitical risks. High transport and accommodation costs, inflation and weaker consumer confidence remain the top concerns cited by its Panel of Tourism Experts.
Tourism inflation is projected to ease from +8% in 2024 to +6.8% this year, but that remains far above the pre-pandemic average of +3.1%.
Confidence in the sector improved slightly heading into the final months of 2025. On UN Tourism’s index, industry experts rated September-December at 120 points, up from 114 for May-August.
Half of respondents said they expected better or much better performance in the last four months of the year, while 33% forecast similar results to 2024 and 16% expected weaker outcomes.
UN Tourism kept its full-year forecast unchanged, projecting +3% to +5% growth in international arrivals in 2025.
UN Tourism Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili commented, “In the face of global challenges, international tourism continues to see strong momentum and resilience.
“The first half of 2025 brought growing arrival numbers and revenues for most destinations around the world, which contribute to local economies, jobs and livelihoods.
“Yet, this also reminds us of our great responsibility to ensure this growth is sustainable and inclusive and to work with all local stakeholders in that sense.” ✈
