UN Tourism spread the news from its central office in Madrid, pointing out a special contribution by the strong demand in Europe and the reopening of markets in Asia and the Pacific.

According to the latest issue of the World Tourism Barometer, some 790 million travelers did so during the first seven months of 2024, about 11 percent more than in 2023 and four percent below 2019.

UN Tourism Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili commented that the industry without chimneys is on track to consolidate its full recovery from the biggest crisis in the sector’s history.

It is doing so despite various economic and geopolitical challenges, underscoring the strong demand for international travel, as well as the effectiveness of boosting air connectivity and relaxing visa restrictions, he said.

Increased air connectivity and visa facilitation have fueled the recovery in international travel, and data shows that, to date, all regions of the world have posted positive results this year, he added

The Middle East remains the region that has shown the strongest growth in relative terms, Africa received seven percent more tourists than in the same months of 2019. Meanwhile, Europe and the Americas recovered 99 and 97 percent, respectively, of their arrivals recorded before the pandemic during these seven months of 2024.

Top performers in the January-July period included Qatar,(+147 percent compared to 2019), Albania (+93%), El Salvador (+81%), Saudi Arabia (+73%), the Republic of Moldova (+50% in June) and Tanzania (+49% in June).

In terms of international tourism receipts, Albania (+128 percent), Serbia (+126 percent), Tajikistan (+85 percent), Pakistan (+76 percent), Montenegro (+70 percent), North Macedonia (+60 percent) and Portugal (+57 percent) and Türkiye (+55 percent) stand out.

The most important issuers are the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada and Italy.

mh/ro/ft