14:00
According to data just released by The United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), the international tourist arrivals increased by 5 per cent during the first half compared to the same period last year reaching almost 500 million.
UNWTO is the United Nations agency responsible for the promotion of responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism.
Destinations around the world welcomed an estimated 494 million overnight visitors in the first six months, according to the Advance Edition of the UNWTO World Tourism Barometer released on the occasion of the UNWTO 20th General Assembly in Madrid, Spain.
This represents an increase of 5 per cent or an additional 25 million international tourists compared to the same period of 2012.
According to UNTWO, the Middle East rebounded after two years of negative growth with an estimated increase in international arrivals of 13 per cent.
The growth was stronger in emerging economy destinations (over 6 per cent) than in advanced economies (over 4 per cent), a trend which has marked the sector for many years now, said the report.
Asia and the Pacific (over 6 per cent) also exceeded expectations, boosted by South-East Asia (over 12 per cent) and South Asia (over 7 per cent). On the other hand, results were weaker than anticipated in the Americas (over 2 per cent), as South America and the Caribbean lagged behind.
In Europe, international tourist arrivals were up 5 per cent despite the lingering economic difficulties. Growth was led by Central and Eastern Europe (over 10 per cent) and Southern and Mediterranean Europe (over 6 per cent).
China with over 31 per cent and Russia with 22 per cent growth led the boom in expenditure on travel abroad among the top ten most important source markets in the world during the first half.
Expenditure from traditional markets, on the other hand, was more modest. Canada (over 3 per cent) and France (over 2 per cent) led the group, followed by the US, Germany and the United Kingdom, and negative figures from Japan, Australia and Italy.
Source: Travel
