 |
INTERNATIONAL. International tourism is steadily gaining momentum following an extremely challenging 2009, according to the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).
The recently published April Interim Update of the UNWTO World Tourism Barometer outlines a growth in international tourist arrivals of +7% during the first two months of 2010. It follows a +2% increase recorded during the last quarter of 2009, which followed 14 consecutive months of negative results.
The regions with the strongest growth were Asia and the Pacific, +10%, and Africa, +7%. Europe and the Americas recorded a slower rise of +3% each.
UNWTO stated that “Though there is a clear improvement on the negative results of 2009, this growth must be considered with caution as it compares with a particularly weak period of 2009 – the worst months of the global economic crisis.”
Total international tourist arrivals in the first two months of 2010 amounted to 119 million. Though they have increased by +7%, they are still -2% below the value of the record year 2008, according to UNWTO.
 |
Click here to view the enlarged image (then hover over graphs with your cursor and click for full detail) |
UNWTO forecasts a +3-4% growth in international tourist arrivals in 2010. This estimate has remained unchanged after the recent closure of the European airspace between 15 April and 20 April. UNWTO estimates that, although the incident seriously impacted travellers and companies, it “might have caused a loss of less than half a per cent of the yearly volume of international tourist arrivals in Europe and 0.3% of the total count for the world.”
UNWTO Secretary-General Taleb Rifai said in Sofia, Bulgaria, during the opening of the UNWTO seminar ‘Tourism Governance In Times of Crisis: Conjunctural and Structural Policies’: “Although economic results have improved significantly in recent months with a positive impact on tourism demand, we must remain cautious as many factors can still jeopardise the pace of recovery.”
He added: “The economic recovery is being driven mainly by emerging economies, while growth is still sluggish in most advanced ones. At the same time, increasing unemployment levels in major tourism source markets is a cause of concern.”
International tourism receipts fell to US$852 billion worldwide (€611 billion) in 2009, down from US$942 billion (€641 billion) in 2008. In real terms, international tourism receipts declined by -6%, which was more than the -4% decline in arrivals, reflecting the fact that as suggested by past experience, revenues usually suffer greater losses than arrivals in times of crisis.
 |
Click here to view the enlarged image (then hover over graphs with your cursor and click for full detail) |
In 2009 China overtook France in the ranking of international tourism spenders to fourth place. UNWTO said that Chinese international tourism expenditure has been the fastest growing over the last decade, and even experienced a +21% increase during last year’s economic and financial crisis.
Overall the top ten destinations by international tourist arrivals and receipts in 2009 did not undergo major changes. The top countries leading the rankings were France, the US and Spain.
 |
Click here to view the enlarged image (then hover over graphs with your cursor and click for full detail) |
Click here for details of the UNWTO World Tourism Barometer April 2010 Interim Update.
