International tourism bounced back to 96% of pre-pandemic levels in the seven months through July 2024, driven by strong demand in Europe and the re-opening of markets in Asia and the Pacific.

According to the latest World Tourism Barometer by UN Tourism, around 790 million tourists travelled internationally in the first seven months of 2024, about 11% more than in 2023 and only 4% less than in 2019. Data show a strong start to the year, followed by a more modest second quarter. Results are in line with UN Tourism’s projection of a full recovery in international arrivals in 2024 despite ongoing economic and geopolitical risks.

The Middle East remained the strongest-growing region in relative terms, with international arrivals climbing 26% above 2019 levels in the first seven months of 2024.

Africa welcomed 7% more tourists than in the same months of 2019.

Europe and the Americas recovered 99% and 97% of their pre-pandemic arrivals respectively during these seven months.

Asia and the Pacific recorded 82% of its pre-pandemic tourist numbers (-18% versus 2019) reaching 85% in June and 86% in July.

A total of 67 out of 120 destinations around the world had recovered 2019 arrival numbers in the first half of 2024, based on countries reporting monthly or quarterly data. Some of the strongest performers in January-July 2024 were Qatar (+147% versus 2019) where arrivals more than doubled, Albania (+93%), El Salvador (+81%), Saudi Arabia (+73%), the Republic of Moldova (+50% through June) and Tanzania (+49% through June).

Receipts and expenditure data shows even stronger results

Regarding international tourism receipts, 47 out of 63 countries with available data had recovered pre-pandemic values in the first six months of 2024, many reporting strong double-digit growth compared to 2019 (in local currencies and current prices). Among the best performers through June or July 2024 were Albania (+128%) and Serbia (+126%) where receipts more than doubled (compared to the same period of 2019), followed by Tajikistan (+85%), Pakistan (+76%), Montenegro (+70%), North Macedonia (+60%) and Portugal (+57%). Strong results were also reported by Türkiye (+55%) and Colombia (+54%). Worth noting based on first quarter data, are Saudi Arabia (+207%) and El Salvador (+168%) which enjoyed extraordinary growth compared to Q1 2019.

Data on international tourism expenditure reveals strong demand for outbound travel in January-July 2024, especially from large source markets such as the United States (+32%), Germany (+38%), and the United Kingdom (+40% through March), compared to the same period of 2019. Strong outbound spending was also reported by Australia (+34%), Canada (+28%) and Italy (+26%), all through June 2024. Limited data for India shows an impressive surge in outbound spending, with 86% growth in Q1 2024 (versus Q1 2019).

Revised data for 2023 shows export revenues from international tourism reaching USD 1.8 trillion (including receipts and passenger transport), virtually the same as before the pandemic (-1% in real terms compared to 2019). Tourism direct GDP also recovered pre-pandemic levels in 2023, reaching an estimated USD 3.4 trillion, equivalent to 3% of global GDP. In 2019 tourism directly contributed to 4% of global GDP.

Positive finish to 2024 expected though challenges remain

The UN Tourism Confidence Index shows positive expectations for the last part of the year, at 120 points for September-December 2024, though below the prospects for May-August, which stood at 130 (on a scale of 0 to 200, where 100 reflects equal expected performance). Some 47% of the tourism experts participating in the Confidence survey expect better performance for the sector in the last four months of 2024, while 41% project similar performance and 11% worse. This reflects a gradual normalization of tourism performance after a strong 2023.

Experts pointed to inflation in travel and tourism, namely high transport and accommodation prices, as the main challenge the tourism sector is currently facing, as well as the global economic situation, staff shortages and extreme weather events.