World Tourism rankings

Countries by tourist arrivals in 2019

The World Tourism rankings are compiled by the United Nations World Tourism Organization as part of their World Tourism Barometer publication, which is released up to six times per year. In the publication, destinations are ranked by the number of international visitor arrivals, by the revenue generated by inbound tourism, and by the expenditure of outbound travelers.


Most visited destinations by international tourist arrivals

In 2023 there were 1.3 billion international tourists, with a growth of 33.4% compared to 2022 and growth of 112.2% compared to 2021.[1] The top 10 international tourism destinations in 2023 were:[2][3]

Rank Destination International
tourist
arrivals
(2023)[4] 		International
tourist
arrivals
(2022)[3]		 Change
(2022 to
2023)
(%)		 Change
(2021 to
2022)
(%)
1  France 100 million 79.4 million Increase 25.9 Increase 64
2  Spain 85.2 million 71.7 million Increase 18.8 Increase 130
3  United States 66.5 million 50.9 million Increase 30.6 Increase 130
4  Italy 57.2 million 49.8 million Increase 14.8 Increase 85
5  Turkey 55.2 million 50.5 million Increase 9.3 Increase 69
6  Mexico 42.2 million 38.3 million Increase 10.1 Increase 20
7  United Kingdom 37.2 million 30.7 million Increase 21.1 Increase 389
8  Germany 34.8 million 28.5 million Increase 22.1 Increase 144
9  Greece 32.7 million 27.8 million Increase 17.6 Increase 89
10  Austria 30.9 million 26.2 million Increase 17.9 Increase 106

Africa

In 2019, there were 69.9 million international tourist arrivals to Africa (excluding Egypt and Libya), an increase of 2.4% from 2018.[5] In 2019, the top ten African destinations were:

Rank Destination International
tourist
arrivals
(2019)[5] 		International
tourist
arrivals
(2018)[5]		 Change
(2018 to
2019)
(%)		 Change
(2017 to
2018)
(%)
1  Egypt 13.0 million 11.3 million Increase 14.8 Increase 36.8
2  Morocco 12.9 million 12.3 million Increase 5.2 Increase 8.3
3  South Africa 10.2 million 10.5 million Decrease 2.3 Increase 1.8
4  Tunisia 9.4 million 8.3 million Increase 13.6 Increase 17.7
5  Algeria 2.4 million 2.7 million Decrease 10.8 Increase 8.4
6  Zimbabwe 2.3 million 2.6 million Decrease 10.8 Increase 5.9
7  Mozambique 2.0 million 2.7 million Decrease 26.4 Increase 89.6
8  Ivory Coast – 2.0 million - Increase 9.2
9  Kenya – 1.9 million - Increase 15.4
10  Botswana – 1.7 million - Increase 2.0
Note: Egypt and Libya are classified under "Middle East" in the UNWTO.[6]

Americas

In 2022, there were 156.2 million international tourist arrivals to the Americas, an increase of 90.9%.[5] In 2022, the top ten destinations were:

Rank Destination International
tourist
arrivals
(2022)[5] 		International
tourist
arrivals
(2021)[5]		 Change
(2021 to
2022)
(%)		 Change
(2020 to
2021)
(%)
1  United States 50.8 million 22.2 million Increase 128.8 Increase 15.6
2  Mexico 38.3 million 31.8 million Increase 20.4 Increase 31.4
3  Canada 12.8 million 3.0 million Increase 326.6 Increase 3.4
4  Dominican Republic 6.9 million 4.9 million Increase 40.8 Increase 104.1
5  Colombia 4.5 million 2.1 million Increase 114.2 Increase 74.9
6  Argentina 3.8 million 0.3 million Increase 1196.6 Decrease 85.6
7  Brazil 3.6 million 0.7 million Increase 386.5 Decrease 65.2
8  Jamaica 2.4 million 1.4 million Increase 71.4 Increase 66.3
9  Uruguay 2.4 million 0.2 million Increase 962.4 Decrease 74.9
10  Peru 2.0 million 0.4 million Increase 452.2 Decrease 20.1

Asia and the Pacific

In 2019, there were 360.7 million international tourist arrivals to Asia-Pacific, an increase of 4.1% over 2018.[5] In 2019, the top ten destinations were:

Rank Destination International
tourist
arrivals
(2023)[7] 		International
tourist
arrivals
(2019)[5] 		International
tourist
arrivals
(2018)[5]		 Change
(2018 to
2019)
(%)		 Change
(2017 to
2018)
(%)
1  China 35.3 million[8] 65.7 million 62.9 million Increase 4.5 Increase 3.6
2  Thailand 28.15 million 39.8 million 38.2 million Increase 4.3 Increase 7.3
3  Japan 25.07 million 32.2 million 31.2 million Increase 3.2 Increase 8.7
4  Malaysia 26.1 million 25.8 million Increase 1.0 Decrease 0.4
5  Hong Kong 23.8 million 29.3 million Decrease 18.8 Increase 4.9
6  Macau 18.6 million 18.5 million Increase 0.8 Increase 7.2
7  Vietnam 18.0 million 15.5 million Increase 16.2 Increase 19.9
8  India 17.9 million 17.4 million Increase 2.8 Increase 12.1
9  South Korea 17.5 million 15.3 million Increase 14.0 Increase 15.1
10  Indonesia 15.5 million 13.4 million Increase 15.4 Increase 3.5

Europe

In 2022, there were 594.5 million international tourist arrivals to Europe, an increase of 95% over 2021.[5] Top 10 destinations of the last four years were:

Rank Destination International
tourist
arrivals
(2022)[3] 		International
tourist
arrivals
(2021)[3] 		International
tourist
arrivals
(2020)[5] 		International
tourist
arrivals
(2019)[5]		 Change
(2021 to
2022)
(%)		 Change
(2020 to
2021)
(%)
1  France ― 48.4 million 41.7 million 90.9 million — Increase 16.1
2  Spain 71.7 million 31.2 million 18.9 million 83.5 million Increase 130 Increase 64.7
3  Turkey 50.5 million 29.9 million 15.9 million 51.2 million Increase 69 Increase 88.3
4  Italy 49.8 million 26.9 million 25.2 million 64.5 million Increase 85 Increase 6.7
5  United Kingdom ― 6.3 million 10.7 million 39.4 million ― Decrease 41.3
6  Germany 28.5 million 11.7 million 12.4 million 39.6 million Increase 144 Decrease 6.1
7  Greece 27.8 million 14.7 million 7.4 million 31.3 million Increase 89 Increase 99.4
8  Austria 26.2 million 12.7 million 15.1 million 31.9 million Increase 106 Decrease 15.7
9  Portugal ― 9.6 million 6.5 million 24.5 million ― Increase 48.4
10  Netherlands 15.9 million 6.2 million 7.3 million 20.1 million Increase 155 Decrease 14.0

West Asia

In 2019, there were 61.4 million international tourist arrivals to West Asia (excluding Iran and Israel), an increase of 2.1% over 2018. In 2019, the top ten destinations were:

Rank Destination International
tourist
arrivals
(2023)[7] 		International
tourist
arrivals
(2019)[5] 		International
tourist
arrivals
(2018)[5]		 Change
(2018 to
2019)
(%)		 Change
(2017 to
2018)
(%)
1  Saudi Arabia 27 million 17.5 million 15.5 million Increase 13.0 Decrease 3.7
2  United Arab Emirates 16.7 million 15.9 million Increase 5.1 Increase 0.8
3  Egypt 13.0 million 11.3 million Increase 14.8 Increase 36.8
4  Iran 9.1 million 7.3 million Increase 24.4 Increase 49.9
5  Israel 4.6 million 4.1 million Increase 10.5 Increase 14.1
6  Jordan 4.5 million 4.2 million Increase 8.1 Increase 8.0
7  Bahrain 3.8 million 4.4 million Decrease 11.8 Decrease 0.2
8  Oman 2.5 million 2.3 million Increase 8.6 Decrease 0.6
9  Qatar 2.1 million 1.8 million Increase 17.4 Decrease 19.4
10  Lebanon 1.9 million 2.0 million Decrease 1.4 Increase 5.8
Note: Iran is classified as part of "South Asia" in the UNWTO.[6]

Israel is classified as part of "Southern/Medit.Europe" in the UNWTO.[6]

International tourism receipts

International tourism receipts are the earnings a country makes from foreign visitors' spending on goods and services during their stay, such as expenditures accommodation, food and drink, and shopping. International tourism receipts reached USD 1 trillion in 2022, growing 50% in real terms compared to 2021, driven by the important rebound in international travel.[5] The World Tourism Organization reports the following destinations as the top ten tourism earners for the year 2022, with the United States by far the top earner.

Rank Region International
tourism
receipts

(US$ billion)
(2023)[4]

International
tourism
receipts

(US$ billion)
(2022)[3]

Change
(local currency)
(2022 to 2023)
(%)
1  United States 175.9 135.2 Increase 30.1%
2  Spain 92.0 72.9 Increase 26.2%
3  United Kingdom 73.9 68.2 Increase 8.3%
4  France 68.6 59.7 Increase 14.9%
5  Italy 55.9 44.3 Increase 26.1%
6  United Arab Emirates 51.9 ― ―
7  Turkey 49.5 41.2 Increase 21.3%
8  Australia 46.6 ― ―
9  Canada 39.2 24.0 Increase 63.3%
10  Japan 38.6 ― ―

Africa

Rank Region International
tourism
receipts
(US$ million)
(2019)[5]
1  Egypt 13,030
2  South Africa 8,384
3  Morocco 8,179
4  Tanzania 2,605
5  Tunisia 2,116
6  Mauritius 1,779
7  Uganda 1,463
8  Nigeria 1,449
9  Ghana 1,425
10  Kenya 1,072*
Note: Number for Kenya is for 2018.

Americas

Rank Region International
tourism
receipts
(US$ million)
(2019)[5]
1  United States 214,134
2  Canada 28,012
3  Mexico 24,573
4  Dominican Republic 7,468
5  Brazil 5,995
6  Colombia 5,652
7  Argentina 5,241
8  Panama 4,521
9  Bahamas 4,126
10  Costa Rica 4,010

Asia and the Pacific

Rank Region International
tourism
receipts
(US$ million)
(2019)[5]
1  Thailand 60,521
2  Japan 46,054
3  Australia 45,709
4  Macau 40,060
5  China 35,832
6  India 30,720
7  Hong Kong 29,043
8  South Korea 21,628
9  Singapore 20,052
10  Malaysia 19,823

Europe

Rank Region International
tourism
receipts
(US$ billion)
(2022)[5]
1  Spain 72,9
2  United Kingdom 68,2
3  France 59,7
4  Italy 44,3
5  Turkey 41,2
6  Germany 31,5
7  Portugal 22,2
8  Austria 19,2
9  Greece 18,6
10  Switzerland 16,2

West Asia

Rank Region International
tourism
receipts
(US$ million)
(2019)[5]
1  United Arab Emirates 21,800
2  Saudi Arabia 16,382
3  Egypt 13,030
4  Lebanon 8,593
5  Israel 7,600
6  Jordan 5,786
7  Qatar 5,442
8  Iran 4,402*
9  Bahrain 3,681
10  Iraq 3,593
Note: Number for Iran is for 2017.

International tourism expenditure

The World Tourism Organization reports the following source markets as the top ten spenders on international tourism for the year 2022 and 2023, with China and the United States by far being the top spender:

Rank Country International
tourism
expenditure
(2023)[4] 		International
tourism
expenditure
(2022)[3] 		Change
(local currency)
(2021 to 2022)
(%) [3]
1  China $196.5 billion $114.8 billion Increase 71.1%
2  United States $150.0 billion $114.9 billion Increase 30.5%
3  Germany $111.9 billion $89.4 billion Increase 25.1%
4  United Kingdom $110.3 billion ― ―
5  France $49.0 billion $47.7 billion Increase 2.7%
6  Canada $38.3 billion $24.4 billion Increase 56.9%
7  Italy $34.2 billion $26.5 billion Increase 29%
8  India $33.3 billion $25.9 billion Increase 28.5%
9  Russia $33.0 billion ― ―
10  South Korea $27.8 billion ― ―

See also

References

  1. ^ "World Tourism Barometer" (PDF). World Tourism Organization. 21 May 2024. p. 5. ISSN 1728-9246. Retrieved 24 June 2024.
  2. ^ "Global and regional tourism performance". www.unwto.org. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g "International Tourism – 2023 starts on a strong note with the Middle East recovering 2019 levels in the first quarter" (PDF). webunwto.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 August 2023.
  4. ^ a b c "World Tourism Barometer" (PDF). World Tourism Organization. May 2024. p. 19. Retrieved 24 June 2024.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t "UNWTO World Tourism Barometer and Statistical Annex, December 2020 | World Tourism Organization". UNWTO World Tourism Barometer (English Version). 18 (7): 1–36. 18 December 2020. doi:10.18111/wtobarometereng.2020.18.1.7. S2CID 241989515.
  6. ^ a b c "WTO/ Member States of Middle East". World Tourism Organization. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
  7. ^ a b "International tourist arrivals by country 2023". Statista.
  8. ^ Gan, Nectar (18 January 2024). "Number of foreign visitors to China in 2023 down more than 60% from pre-pandemic levels". CNN. Retrieved 12 October 2024.