UNWTO: Global tourism up 4%

MADRID  International tourism demand continued to be robust, January to April, with tourist arrivals increasing 4%, worldwide, according to the latest UNWTO World Tourism Barometer.
Almost all regions enjoyed strong growth. Prospects for the May to August period remain upbeat, with close to 500 million tourists expected to travel abroad during these four months.
Destinations, worldwide, received some 332 million international tourists (overnight visitors), January to April, 16 million more than the same period last year, corresponding to an increase of 4%.
This result follows an increase of 4.3% in 2014 and consolidates the upward trend of international tourism in recent years (+4.5% international tourist arrivals a year on average since 2010).
inside no 6By region, the Americas (+6%) led growth, followed by Europe, Asia and the Pacific and the Middle East, all recording 4% to 5% more arrivals.
By subregion, Oceania and South America boasted the strongest increase (both +8%), followed by the Caribbean and Central and Eastern Europe (both +7%), the latter rebounding from last year’s decline.
In Africa, January to April points to a 6% decline, as African destinations struggle to recover.
With a 6% growth in the Americas, all four subregions continued to enjoy significant growth in January to April, led by South America (+8%) and the Caribbean (+7%). Strong outbound demand from the United States fuelled results as 20 million US tourists travelled abroad through April, 7% more than during the same period last year.
Asia and the Pacific (+4%) consolidated its growth of recent years, with Oceania (+8%) and Northeast Asia (+5%) in the lead. Southeast Asia (+3%) recorded moderate results this four-month period as the rebound in Thailand (+25%) was offset by declines in other destinations.
Europe, the world’s most visited region, enjoyed continued strength with international tourist arrivals growing by 5% through April. Arrivals in central and eastern Europe increased by 7%, rebounding on the poor results of 2014 following the conflict in Ukraine and the slowdown of the Russian economy.
Southern Mediterranean Europe (+5%) maintained strong growth, though for many destinations these are low season months. Western Europe and Northern Europe both enjoyed a solid 4% increase in arrivals, partly due to good results in traditional winter sports destinations.
inside no 6.1International tourist arrivals in the Middle East are estimated to be up by 4% through April, further continuing the region’s recovery, which started in 2014 after three consecutive years of declines. Africa’s international tourist numbers, on the other hand, declined by an estimated 6% as a consequence of the decrease in arrivals to North Africa (-7%) as well as to sub-Saharan Africa (-5%). Figures for both Africa and the Middle East should be read with caution, as they are based on limited available data for these regions.
There are optimistic prospects for the coming months. Close to 500 million tourists are estimated to travel abroad between May and August, the Northern Hemisphere holiday peak season, a total that accounts for some 41% of all international tourist arrivals registered in a year.
According to the latest results of the UNWTO Tourism Confidence Index, prospects for this period continue to be bullish and are the highest for this period since the pre-crisis year 2007. The sentiment is positive among all regions and areas of activity.
Business intelligence tool ForwardKeys also shows healthy growth in international air travel reservations for May to August 2015. Overall bookings are up 5% thanks to strong demand for domestic air travel (+7%) and continued growth in international travel (+4%). By region, air reservations increased most in Asia and the Pacific, the Americas and Europe, while reservations to and from Africa and the Middle East are weaker.
According to the forecast issued by UNWTO in January this year, international tourist arrivals are expected to increase by 3% to 4% for the full year 2015, in line with UNWTO’s long-term forecast of 3.8% a year for the period 2010 to 2020.
Results presented reflect preliminary data reported to date and are subject to revision.

sourced:ttrweekly.com