World Tourism rankings
The World Tourism rankings are compiled by the United Nations World Tourism Organization as part of their World Tourism Barometer publication, which is released three times annually. In the publication, UN regions and subregions are ranked by the number of international visitor arrivals, by the revenue generated by inbound tourism, and by the expenditures of outbound travelers.
Most visited destinations by international tourist arrivalsEdit
In 2018, there were 1.401 billion international tourist arrivals worldwide, with a growth of 5.4% as compared to 2017.[1] The top 10 international tourism destinations in 2018 were (2018 numbers are preliminary):
Rank | Destination | International tourist arrivals (2018)[1] |
International tourist arrivals (2017)[1] |
Change (2017 to 2018) (%) |
Change (2016 to 2017) (%) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | France | 89.4 million | 86.9 million | 2.9 | 5.1 |
2 | Spain | 82.8 million | 81.9 million | 1.1 | 8.7 |
3 | United States | 79.6 million | 76.9 million | 3.5 | 0.7 |
4 | China | 62.9 million | 60.7 million | 3.6 | 2.5 |
5 | Italy | 62.1 million | 58.2 million | 6.7 | 11.2 |
6 | Turkey | 45.8 million | 37.6 million | 21.7 | 24.1 |
7 | Mexico | 41.4 million | 39.3 million | 5.5 | 12.0 |
8 | Germany | 38.9 million | 37.5 million | 3.8 | 5.2 |
9 | Thailand | 38.3 million | 35.5 million | 7.9 | 9.1 |
10 | United Kingdom | 36.3 million | 37.6 million | 3.5 | 5.1 |
AfricaEdit
In 2017, there were over 62.7 million international tourist arrivals to Africa, an increase of 8.5% from 2016. Preliminary numbers for 2018 indicate a similar increase.[1]
In 2017, the top ten African destinations were:
Rank | Destination | International tourist arrivals (2017)[1] |
International tourist arrivals (2016)[2] |
Change (2016 to 2017) (%) |
Change (2015 to 2016) (%) | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Morocco | 11.3 million | 10.3 million | 9.8 | 1.5 | |
2 | South Africa | 10.3 million | 10.0 million | 2.4 | 12.8 | |
3 | Egypt | 8.3 million | 5.3 million | 53.6 | 42.5 | |
4 | Tunisia | 7.1 million | 5.7 million | 23.2 | 6.8 | |
5 | Algeria | 2.5 million | 2.0 million | 20.2 | 19.2 | |
6 | Zimbabwe | 2.4 million | 2.2 million | 11.8 | 5.4 | |
7 | Ivory Coast | 1.8 million | 1.6 million | 13.7 | 9.9 | |
8 | Botswana | 1.6 million | 1.5 million | 5.5 | – | |
9 | Namibia | 1.5 million | 1.5 million | 2.0 | 5.8 | |
10 | Mozambique | 1.4 million | 1.6 million | 11.7 | 5.6 | |
Note: Egypt is classified under "Middle East" in the UNWTO.[3] |
AmericasEdit
In 2018, there were 215.7 million international tourist arrivals to the Americas, an increase of 2.3%.[1] In 2018, the top ten destinations were (2018 numbers are preliminary):
Rank | Destination | International tourist arrivals (2018)[1] |
International tourist arrivals (2017)[1] |
Change (2017 to 2018) (%) |
Change (2016 to 2017) (%) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | United States | 79.6 million | 76.9 million | 3.5 | 0.7 |
2 | Mexico | 41.4 million | 39.3 million | 5.5 | 12.0 |
3 | Canada | 21.1 million | 20.9 million | 1.2 | 4.6 |
4 | Argentina | 6.9 million | 6.7 million | 3.4 | 0.8 |
5 | Brazil | 6.6 million | 6.6 million | 0.5 | 0.6 |
6 | Dominican Republic | 6.6 million | 6.2 million | 6.2 | 3.48 |
7 | Chile | 5.7 million | 6.5 million | 11.3 | 14.3 |
8 | Cuba | 4.7 million | 4.6 million | 0.2 | 15.6 |
9 | Peru | 4.4 million | 4.0 million | 9.6 | 7.7 |
10 | Colombia | 3.9 million | 3.6 million | 7.4 | 9.5 |
Asia-PacificEdit
In 2018, there were over 347 million international tourist arrivals to Asia-Pacific, an increase of 7.3% over 2017.[1] In 2018, the top ten destinations were (2018 numbers are preliminary):
Rank | Destination | International tourist arrivals (2018)[1] |
International tourist arrivals (2017)[1] |
Change (2017 to 2018) (%) |
Change (2016 to 2017) (%) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | China | 62.9 million | 60.7 million | 3.6 | 2.5 |
2 | Thailand | 38.3 million | 35.5 million | 6.8 | 8.8 |
3 | Japan | 31.2 million | 28.7 million | 8.7 | 19.4 |
4 | Hong Kong | 29.3 million | 27.9 million | 4.9 | 5.0 |
5 | Malaysia | 25.8 million | 25.9 million | 0.4 | 3.0 |
6 | Macau | 18.5 million | 17.3 million | 7.2 | 9.9 |
7 | India | 17.4 million | 15.5 million | 12.1 | 6.7 |
8 | Vietnam | 15.5 million | 12.9 million | 19.9 | 29.1 |
9 | South Korea | 15.3 million | 13.3 million | 15.1 | 22.7 |
10 | Singapore | 14.7 million | 13.9 million | 5.5 | 7.7 |
EuropeEdit
In 2018, there were around 710 million international tourist arrivals to Europe, an increase of 5.5% over 2017.[1] In 2018, the top ten destinations were (2018 numbers are preliminary):
Rank | Destination | International tourist arrivals (2018)[1] |
International tourist arrivals (2017)[1] |
Change (2017 to 2018) (%) |
Change (2016 to 2017) (%) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | France | 89.4 million | 86.9 million | 2.9 | 5.1 |
2 | Spain | 82.8 million | 81.9 million | 1.1 | 8.7 |
3 | Italy | 62.1 million | 58.3 million | 6.7 | 11.2 |
4 | Turkey | 45.8 million | 37.6 million | 21.7 | 24.1 |
5 | Germany | 38.9 million | 37.5 million | 3.8 | 5.2 |
6 | United Kingdom | 36.3 million | 37.7 million | 3.5 | 5.1 |
7 | Austria | 30.8 million | 29.5 million | 4.6 | 4.8 |
8 | Greece | 30.1 million | 27.2 million | 10.8 | 9.7 |
9 | Russia | 24.6 million | 24.4 million | 0.7 | 0.7 |
10 | Portugal | 22.8 million | 21.2 million | 7.5 | 16.5 |
Middle EastEdit
In 2017, there were 57.7 million international tourist arrivals to the Middle East (excluding Turkey, Iran and Israel), an increase of 4.1% over 2016. Preliminary numbers for 2018 indicate an similar increase.[1] In 2017, the top ten destinations were:
Rank | Destination | International tourist arrivals (2017)[1] |
International tourist arrivals (2016)[2] |
Change (2016 to 2017) (%) |
Change (2015 to 2016) (%) | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Turkey | 37.6 million | 30.3 million | 24.1 | 23.3 | |
2 | Saudi Arabia | 16.1 million | 18.0 million | 10.7 | 0.3 | |
3 | United Arab Emirates | 15.8 million | 14.9 million | 6.2 | 4.7 | |
4 | Egypt | 8.3 million | 5.3 million | 53.6 | 42.5 | |
5 | Iran | 4.9 million | 4.9 million | 1.5 | 5.6 | |
6 | Bahrain | 4.4 million | 4.0 million | 9.6 | 0.7 | |
7 | Jordan | 3.8 million | 3.6 million | 7.7 | 5.2 | |
8 | Israel | 3.6 million | 2.9 million | 24.6 | 3.6 | |
9 | Oman | 2.4 million | 2.3 million | 1.6 | 20.1 | |
10 | Qatar | 2.3 million | 2.9 million | 23.2 | 0.1 | |
Note: Iran is classified as part of "South Asia" in the UNWTO.[3] Turkey and Israel are classified as part of "Southern/Medit.Europe" in the UNWTO.[3] |
International tourism receiptsEdit
International tourism receipts grew to US$1,451 billion in 2018, corresponding to an increase in real terms of 4.4% from 2017.[1] The World Tourism Organization reports the following destinations as the top ten tourism earners for the year 2018, with the United States by far the top earner.
Rank | Region | International tourism receipts (US$ billion) |
International tourism receipts (US$ billion) |
Change (2017 to 2018) (%) |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | United States | 214.5 | 210.7 | 1.8% |
2 | Spain | 73.8 | 68.1 | 8.4% |
3 | France | 67.3 | 60.7 | 10.9% |
4 | Thailand | 63.0 | 56.9 | 10.7% |
5 | United Kingdom | 51.9 | 49.0 | 5.9% |
6 | Italy | 49.3 | 44.2 | 11.5% |
7 | Australia | 45.0 | 41.7 | 7.9% |
8 | Germany | 43.0 | 39.8 | 8.0% |
9 | Japan | 41.1 | 34.1 | 20.5% |
10 | China | 40.4 | 38.6 | 4.7% |
AfricaEdit
Rank | Region | International tourism receipts (US$ million) (2018)[1] |
---|---|---|
1 | Egypt | 11,615 |
2 | South Africa | 8,939 |
3 | Morocco | 7,775 |
4 | Tanzania | 2,449 |
5 | Nigeria | 1,962 |
6 | Mauritius | 1,887 |
7 | Tunisia | 1,713 |
8 | Sudan | 1,043 |
9 | Uganda | 1,037 |
10 | Kenya | 919* |
Note: Number for Kenya is for 2017. |
AmericasEdit
Rank | Region | International tourism receipts (US$ million) (2018)[1] |
---|---|---|
1 | United States | 214,468 |
2 | Mexico | 22,510 |
3 | Canada | 21,936 |
4 | Dominican Republic | 7,561 |
5 | Brazil | 5,917 |
6 | Argentina | 5,558 |
7 | Colombia | 5,556 |
8 | Panama | 4,608 |
9 | Peru | 3,947 |
10 | Costa Rica | 3,903 |
Asia-PacificEdit
Rank | Region | International tourism receipts (US$ million) (2018)[1] |
---|---|---|
1 | Thailand | 63,042 |
2 | Australia | 45,035 |
3 | Japan | 41,115 |
4 | China | 40,386 |
5 | Macau | 40,187 |
6 | Hong Kong | 36,703 |
7 | India | 28,568 |
8 | Singapore | 20,528 |
9 | Malaysia | 19,143 |
10 | South Korea | 15,319 |
EuropeEdit
Rank | Region | International tourism receipts (US$ million) (2018)[1] |
---|---|---|
1 | Spain | 73,765 |
2 | France | 67,370 |
3 | United Kingdom | 51,882 |
4 | Italy | 49,262 |
5 | Germany | 42,977 |
6 | Turkey | 25,220 |
7 | Austria | 22,979 |
8 | Portugal | 19,621 |
9 | Greece | 19,029 |
10 | Netherlands | 18,641 |
Middle EastEdit
Rank | Region | International tourism receipts (US$ million) (2018)[1] |
---|---|---|
1 | Turkey | 25,220 |
2 | United Arab Emirates | 21,375 |
3 | Saudi Arabia | 12,038 |
4 | Egypt | 11,615 |
5 | Lebanon | 8,400 |
6 | Israel | 7,241 |
7 | Qatar | 5,565 |
8 | Jordan | 5,249 |
9 | Iran | 4,402* |
10 | Bahrain | 3,642* |
Note: Numbers for Iran and Bahrain are for 2017. |
International tourism expendituresEdit
The World Tourism Organization reports the following source countries as the top ten spenders on international tourism for the year 2018, with China by far being the top spender:
Rank | Country | International tourism expenditure (2018)[1] |
International tourism expenditure (2017)[2] |
Change (2017 to 2018) (%) [1] |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | China | $277 billion | $257.7 billion | 5 |
2 | United States | $144 billion | $135.0 billion | 7 |
3 | Germany | $94 billion | $89.1 billion | 1 |
4 | United Kingdom | $76 billion | $71.4 billion | 3 |
5 | France | $48 billion | $41.4 billion | 11 |
6 | Australia | $37 billion | $34.2 billion | 10 |
7 | Russia | $35 billion | $31.1 billion | 11 |
8 | Canada | $33 billion | $31.8 billion | 4 |
9 | South Korea | $32 billion | $30.6 billion | 1 |
10 | Italy | $30 billion | $27.7 billion | 4 |
See alsoEdit
ReferencesEdit
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y "UNWTO Tourism Highlights: 2019 Edition | World Tourism Organization". Cite journal requires
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(help) - ^ a b c d "UNWTO Tourism Highlights: 2018 Edition | World Tourism Organization". Cite journal requires
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(help) - ^ a b c "WTO/ Member States of Middle East". World Tourism Organization. Retrieved 16 January 2015.