Wikipedia

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
(2018)[1]		 International
tourist
arrivals
(2017)[1]		 Change
(2017 to
2018)
(%)		 Change
(2016 to
2017)
(%)
1   Morocco 12.3 million 11.3 million   8.3   9.8
2   Egypt 11.3 million 8.3 million   36.8   53.6
3   South Africa 10.5 million 10.3 million   1.8   2.4
4   Tunisia 8.3 million 7.1 million   17.7   23.2
5   Algeria - 2.5 million -   20.2
6   Zimbabwe 2.6 million 2.4 million   5.9   11.8
7   Ivory Coast 2.0 million 1.8 million   9.2   13.7
8   Botswana - 1.6 million -   5.5
9   Namibia - 1.5 million -   2.0
10   Mozambique - 1.4 million -   11.7
Note: Egypt is classified under "Middle East" in the UNWTO.[2]

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
(2018)[1]		 International
tourist
arrivals
(2017)[3]		 Change
(2016 to
2017)
(%)		 Change
(2015 to
2016)
(%)
1   Saudi Arabia 15.3 million 16.1 million   10.7   0.3
2   United Arab Emirates 15.9 million 15.8 million   6.2   4.7
3   Egypt 11.5 million 8.3 million   53.6   42.5
4   Iran 7.3 million 4.9 million   1.5   5.6
5   Bahrain - 4.4 million   9.6   0.7
6   Jordan 4.2 million 3.8 million   7.7   5.2
7   Israel 4.1 million 3.6 million   24.6   3.6
8   Oman - 2.4 million   1.6   20.1
9   Qatar 1.8 million 2.3 million   23.2   0.1
Note: Iran is classified as part of "South Asia" in the UNWTO.[2]

Turkey and Israel are classified as part of "Southern/Medit.Europe" in the UNWTO.[2]

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)
(2018)[1]

 International
tourism
receipts

(US$ billion)
(2017)[3]

 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
11   Switzerland 17,042

Middle EastEdit

Rank Region International
tourism
receipts
(US$ million)
(2018)[1]
1   United Arab Emirates 21,375
2   Saudi Arabia 12,038
3   Egypt 11,615
4   Lebanon 8,400
5   Israel 7,241
6   Qatar 5,565
7   Jordan 5,249
8   Iran 4,402*
9   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)[3]		 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

  1. ^ 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 z "UNWTO Tourism Highlights: 2019 Edition | World Tourism Organization". Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  2. ^ a b c "WTO/ Member States of Middle East". World Tourism Organization. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
  3. ^ a b c "UNWTO Tourism Highlights: 2018 Edition | World Tourism Organization". Cite journal requires |journal= (help)

External linksEdit

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