According to the latest available figures released by UNWTO, international tourist arrivals grew by 5 per cent year-on-year in the first nine months of 2018. The report says that all the world regions enjoyed robust growth in international tourism in the first nine months of this year, fuelled by solid demand from major source markets. Asia and the Pacific led growth (+7%), followed by Europe and the Middle East (+6% each), Africa (+5%) and the Americas (+3%).
Despite comparatively slower growth between July and September, UNWTO estimates that destinations worldwide received 1,083 million international arrivals through September, an additional 56 million when compared to the same period of 2017. The results are in line with UNWTO’s growth forecast of +4% to +5% for the year.
Growth in Tourism Receipt
With few exceptions, preliminary data on international tourism receipts confirm the positive trend seen in arrivals, with particularly strong results in Asian and European destinations. In Asia, China recorded a 21% increase in tourism earnings, with Macao (China) and Japan also leading results with 20% and 19% growth, respectively. India registered a growth of 10.2 per cent in FEE (Foreign Exchange Earnings) through tourism in the first nine months of 2018.
Among some of the other markets, tourism earnings in the UK were up by 12% despite a decline in arrivals. In Australia, receipts increased by 11% whereas France reported an 8% growth and Italy 6%, both in line with growth in arrivals. Tourism receipts in the United States, Spain and Germany went up 3%.
International Tourism Expenditure
The data shows The Russian Federation (+15%) reporting the largest increase in spending and continues to recover strongly after some years of decline. The UK reported 10% growth despite a weak pound against the euro and US dollar, and tourism spending from France picked up 10% after some years of rather flat growth.
The United States, the world’s second largest source market, recorded a 7% increase in line with the performance of recent years while top source market China showed a minor decrease in spending in the first six months of 2018 as a result of the weaker Yuan.
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