In 2023, there are an estimated 1.29 billion international tourist arrivals globally, reaching about 88% compared to 2019. Leading the recovery trend is the Middle East region with a 22% increase in tourist arrivals.
Nha Trang Beach - Khanh Hoa during the kite flying festival at Nha Trang Sea Festival. (Photo: Thanh Ha/VNA)
Global tourism is likely to fully recover from the COVID-19 shock in 2024, but the Asia- Pacific region will lag behind other destinations in terms of tourist numbers, according to estimates by the United Nations Tourism Organization (UN Tourism).
In 2023, there are an estimated 1.29 billion international tourist arrivals globally, reaching about 88% compared to 2019. Leading the recovery trend is the Middle East region with the number of visitors increasing by 22% compared to 4 years earlier.
According to UN Tourism, compared to 2019, tourist arrivals last year recovered by 94% in Europe, 96% in Africa and 90% in the Americas. However, tourism in the Asia-Pacific region has only recovered by 65%, with the Maldives and Fiji being popular destinations.
Recovery has also been slow in Northeast Asia, including Japan and China, where travel demand has recovered to about 55% of 2019 levels.
Official statistics show Japan welcomed 25.07 million tourists in 2023, up about 80% from 2019, as a weak yen makes the country an attractive destination for foreign tourists.
UN Tourism assesses that there is still significant room for Asian tourism to recover. In addition to improvements in the Asian market, pent-up demand for tourism combined with better air connectivity will help global tourism fully recover by the end of this year.
In particular, tourism in and out of China is expected to accelerate this year after Beijing implemented visa exemptions for citizens of France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Malaysia for one year from December 2023.
Despite the positive outlook, the agency also noted that the sustainable recovery of the tourism industry will face significant challenges stemming from geopolitical risks.
The conflict between Israel and Hamas, set to begin in October 2023, has added to the risks, raising concerns that the conflict will spill over into the wider Middle East.
Globally, tourism revenue in 2023 will reach 1,400 billion USD, recovering about 93% compared to 2019./.
According to VNA
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