UNWTO World Tourism Barometer and Statistical Annex, May 2019

All Regions
22 May 19

International arrivals grew 4% in the first quarter of 2019

International tourist arrivals (overnight visitors) grew 4% in January-March 2019 compared to the same period last year, below the 6% average growth of the past two years.

Growth was led by the Middle East (+8%) and Asia and the Pacific (+6%). Europe and Africa (both +4%) and the Americas (+3%) also recorded an increase in arrivals in this first quarter of 2019.

Confidence in global tourism performance has started to pick up again after slowing down at the end of 2018, according to the latest UNWTO Confidence Index survey. The Panel’s outlook for the current May-August period is more optimistic than in the past three periods and more than half of respondents are expecting a better performance in the coming four months.

Total exports from international tourism reach USD 1.7 trillion in 2018

Total export earnings from international tourism reached USD 1.7 trillion in 2018, or almost USD 5 billion a day on average.

International tourism (travel and passenger transport) accounts for 29% of the world’s services exports and 7% of overall exports of goods and services.

For the seventh year in a row, growth in tourism exports (+4%) was higher than growth in merchandise exports (+3%) in 2018.