UN: International tourism recovered to 97% of pre-pandemic level in 1Q2024

UN Tourism - formerly UNWTO - reports that international tourism worldwide in 1Q2024 reached 97% of 1Q2029 (pre-pandemic) level, with more than 285M tourists traveling outside their home countries, up 20% from 1Q2023.

But recovery has varied by region:

Middle East saw the strongest growth: 36% above 1Q2019.

Europe saw 120M international arrivals, up 1% overall from 1Q2019, with Western Europe up 7%, Southern Mediterranean Europe up 1%, Northern Europe at 98%.

Africa arrivals were up 5% overall, North Africa up 23%, Subsaharan Africa at 95%

Americas saw arrivals at 99% of 1Q2019 level overall, with Central America up 15%, Caribbean up 7%, South America at nearly 2019 level, North America at 95%.

Asia and Pacific saw arrivals at 82% of 2019 - a recovery lag likely due to slow restart of airline capacity and visa issuance by China.

International tourist spend reached $1.5 trillion in 2023 - 97% of 2019 in real terms.

The agency projects full recovery and 2% growth vs. 2019 by the end of 2024, driven by strong demand, more air connectivity and the continued recovery of China and other Asia markets.

Potential obstacles include economic and geopolitical conflicts, high prices, inflation, high interest rates, volatile oil prices, trade disruptions, extreme temperatures and other weather events.

Stay tuned for updates as 2024 continues to unfold.