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A full recovery of international tourism to pre-pandemic levels was recorded in 2024, according to the latest Barometer of the World Tourism Organization (UN Tourism). Compared to 2023, last year saw an increase of 11%, with international tourist arrivals reaching 1.4 billion (140 million more than the previous year).
For 2025, UN Tourism predicts an increase in international arrivals of 3% to 5% in 2025 compared to 2024, assuming the recovery in Asia and the Pacific and solid growth in most other regions.
This initial assessment also assumes that global economic conditions will remain favorable, inflation will continue to decline and geopolitical conflicts will not escalate. The Organization’s Expert Group, as you will read at the end, presents the 5 threats that global tourism may face in 2025.
In detail, the data from the UN Tourism Tourism Barometer:
The number of international tourist arrivals in 2024 corresponds to 99% of pre-pandemic levels worldwide.
The Middle East, Europe, and Africa saw the strongest results in 2024 compared to 2019. According to the data:
The Middle East (95 million arrivals) remained the strongest performing region compared to 2019, with international arrivals in 2024 up 32% from pre-pandemic levels (and 1% higher compared to 2023).
Africa (74 million) welcomed 7% more arrivals than in 2019 and 12% more than in 2023.
Europe, the world’s largest tourist destination, welcomed 747 million international arrivals in 2024 (+1% above 2019 levels and 5% compared to 2023). Intra-regional demand was particularly strong. All European sub-regions exceeded pre-pandemic levels, except for Central and Eastern Europe where many destinations are still suffering from the lingering effects of the Russia-Ukraine war
The Americas (213 million) recovered to 97% of pre-pandemic arrivals (-3% from 2019), with the Caribbean and Central America already exceeding 2019 levels. Compared to 2023, the region recorded a 7% growth.
Asia and the Pacific (316 million) continued to show a rapid recovery in 2024, although arrival numbers remained at 87% of pre-pandemic levels, a significant improvement from 66% at the end of 2023. International arrivals increased by 33% in 2024, an increase of 78 million. arrivals since 2023.
By sub-region, North Africa and Central America recorded the strongest performances in 2024, with 22% and 17% more international arrivals than before the pandemic. Southern Mediterranean Europe (+8%) and the Caribbean (+7%) also experienced strong growth, as did Northern Europe (+5%) and Western Europe (+2%).
UN Tourism Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili said: “In 2024, global tourism completed its recovery from the pandemic and, in many places, tourist arrivals and, more importantly, receipts are already higher than in 2019. Growth is expected to continue throughout 2025, driven by strong demand contributing to the socio-economic development of both mature and emerging destinations. This is a reminder of our enormous responsibility as a sector to accelerate transformation, placing people and the planet at the heart of tourism development.”
The full recovery of international tourism in 2024 is also reflected in the performance of other industry indicators. According to the UN Tourism Tracker, both international air capacity and air traffic essentially recovered to pre-pandemic levels by October 2024 (IATA). Global occupancy rates for accommodation reached 66% in November, slightly down from 69% in November 2023 (based on STR data).
Tourism receipts – record in 2024
International tourism receipts recorded strong growth in 2024 after essentially reaching pre-pandemic levels in 2023, in real terms (adjusted for inflation and exchange rate fluctuations).
Receipts reached $1.6 trillion in 2024, about 3% more than in 2023 and 4% more than in 2019 (real terms), according to preliminary estimates.
As growth stabilizes, average spending gradually returns to pre-pandemic levels, from almost USD 1,400 per international arrival in 2020 and 2021, to around USD 1,100 in 2024. This is still above the pre-pandemic average of USD 1,000.
Total tourism exports (including passenger transport) reached a record USD 1.9 trillion in 2024, around 3% higher than before the pandemic (real terms), according to preliminary estimates.
Several destinations reported exceptional growth in international tourism receipts in the first nine to eleven months of 2024. These include Kuwait (+232%), El Salvador (+206%), Saudi Arabia (+148%), Albania (+136%), Serbia (+98%), Republic of Moldova (+86%) and Canada (+70%), all in local currencies. These countries also saw double-digit revenue growth in 2024 compared to 2023.
Among the top five destinations in the world, the United Kingdom (+40%), Spain (+36%), France (+27%) and Italy (+23%) all saw strong growth in the first nine to eleven months of 2024 compared to 2019.
The figures for international tourism spending reflect the same trend, especially in major markets such as Germany, the United Kingdom (both +36% compared to 2019), the United States (+34%), Italy (+25%) and France (+11%). Spending from India remained strong in the first half of 2024 (+81% above 2019 levels), following exceptional growth in 2023.
The positive outlook for 2025 points to continued growth
International tourist arrivals are expected to grow by 3% to 5% in 2025 compared to 2024, assuming a continued recovery in Asia-Pacific and solid growth in most other regions. This initial projection assumes that global economic conditions remain favorable, that inflation continues to decline, and that there is no escalation in geopolitical conflicts.
The outlook reflects a stabilization in growth rates following a strong recovery in international arrivals in 2023 (+33% vs. 2022) and 2024 (+11% vs. 2023).
The latest UN Tourism Confidence Index confirms these positive expectations. Some 64% of the UN Tourism Expert Group see “better” or “much better” prospects for 2025 compared to 2024. Some 26% expect similar performance in their destination, while only 9% believe 2025 will be “worse” or “much worse” than last year.
The 5 threats
However, economic and geopolitical headwinds remain significant risks. More than half of respondents cite high transport and accommodation costs and other economic factors, such as volatile oil prices, as the main challenges facing international tourism in 2025. In this context, tourists are expected to continue to seek value for their money.
Geopolitical risks (in addition to ongoing conflicts) are a growing concern among the Expert Group, which ranked them as the third leading factor after economic risks. Extreme weather events and staff shortages are also critical challenges, ranking fourth and fifth among the factors identified by the Expert Group.
Balancing growth and sustainability will be critical in 2025, as reflected by two main trends identified by the Expert Group: the search for sustainable practices and the discovery of lesser-known destinations.
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