Over 1.4 billion international trips 2024: Tourism is booming again

Over 1.4 billion international trips 2024: Tourism is booming again

sometimes do you also feel as if the queues are getting longer at the airport at the safety control at the airport? Do you book hotel reservations much earlier than before? These observations are not just sensations, because the current data of the UN World Tourism Organization (UNGO) for 2024 show that the tourism industry has recovered sharply after pandemic.

tourism in the upswing

Last year around 1.4 billion people traveled internationally, which corresponds to 99% of the number of travelers in 2019, the last full year before the outbreak of Covid-19. These travelers spent a total of $ 1.9 trillion in the tourism industry, which means that every tourist issued more than $ 1,000.

popular travel destinations

Most international travelers moved to Europe, where there were a total of 747 million tourists in 2024, as the UNGO reports. This result is particularly noteworthy because the ongoing war in Ukraine held many travelers from visiting certain regions.

France was the most visited country in the world, followed by Spain with 98 million visitors. "2024 was an extraordinary year for French tourism and promises promising prospects for 2025," said Atout France, the country's national tourism marketing authority.

The main reasons for the visitor flows to France were the Summer Olympiade 2024 iconic kathedral notre dame in paris Rel = "NOFOLLOW" TARGET = "_ blank" https://www.cnn.com/2024/06/world/gallery/d-day-80th-anniversary/index.html "> D D-DAYIE .

tourism in different regions

The UNWO reports that 316 million people traveled to Asia and the Pacific in 2024, 213 million in America, 95 million in the Middle East and 74 million in Africa. Data on trips to Antarctica are not available.

small countries, great success

The common great powers were not the only ones with increasing number of visitors. In the Middle East, Qatar recorded an impressive increase of 137% in tourist arrivals. This was promoted primarily through extensive investments in the country's infrastructure. Qatar Airways became Best airline in the Hamad International Airport in Doha the title of best airport in the world received.

Other small countries such as Andorra, the Dominican Republic, Kuwait, Albania and El Salvador were also able to celebrate significant success in tourism in 2024

outlook on 2025 and beyond

Global tourism not only returns to old heights, but also seems to be in an ascending trend. Spain, the second most common travel destination in the world, experienced several significant anti-tourism movements in 2024. Among other things, water pistols were aimed at travelers in Barcelona, while in Seville there was discussion. There were also numerous Proteste .

in Italy, where growth of 23% was recorded compared to the previous year, the popular cities of Venice and Florence Large travel groups banned . Measures to combat overtourism were taken across the country in various forms. These included Bans for night swimming Area was overcrowded and rules that bothered to reserve before the evening.

In her annual report, the UNWO expert team warned that "the balance between growth and sustainability in 2025 will be decisive" and recommended "the discovery of less well -known travel destinations". Atout France also dampened the celebrations about the award as the most visited country in the world and emphasized that their goal was to "make France the leading destination for sustainable tourism".