World Tourism rankings

The World Tourism rankings are compiled by the United Nations World Tourism Organization as part of their World Tourism Barometer publication, which is released up to six times per year. In the publication, UN regions and subregions are ranked by the number of international visitor arrivals, by the revenue generated by inbound tourism, and by the expenditures of outbound travelers.

Most visited destinations by international tourist arrivals

In 2019 there were 1.459 billion international tourist arrivals worldwide, with a growth of 3.7% as compared to 2018.[1] The top 10 international tourism destinations in 2019 were:

Rank Destination International
tourist
arrivals
(2019)[1]		 International
tourist
arrivals
(2018)[1]		Change
(2018 to
2019)
(%)		Change
(2017 to
2018)
(%)
1 France90.0 million89.4 million- 2.9
2 Spain83.5 million82.8 million 0.8 1.1
3 United States79.3 million79.7 million 0.6 3.3
4 China65.7 million62.9 million 4.5 3.6
5 Italy64.5 million61.6 million 4.8 5.7
6 Turkey51.2 million45.8 million 11.9 21.7
7 Mexico45.0 million41.3 million 9.0 5.1
8 Thailand39.8 million38.2 million 4.3 7.3
9 Germany39.6 million38.9 million 1.8 3.8
10 United Kingdom39.4 million38.7 million 1.9 2.2

Africa

In 2019, there were 69.9 million international tourist arrivals to Africa (excluding Egypt), an increase of 2.4% from 2018.[1] In 2019, the top ten African destinations were:

Rank Destination International
tourist
arrivals
(2019)[1]		 International
tourist
arrivals
(2018)[1]		Change
(2018 to
2019)
(%)		Change
(2017 to
2018)
(%)
1 Egypt13.0 million 11.3 million 14.8 36.8
2 Morocco12.9 million 12.3 million 5.2 8.3
3 South Africa10.2 million 10.5 million 2.3 1.8
4 Tunisia9.4 million 8.3 million 13.6 17.7
5 Algeria2.4 million 2.7 million 10.8 8.4
6 Zimbabwe2.3 million 2.6 million 10.8 5.9
7 Mozambique2.0 million 2.7 million 26.4 89.6
8 Ivory Coast- 2.0 million- 9.2
9 Kenya- 1.9 million- 15.4
10 Botswana- 1.7 million- 2.0
Note: Egypt is classified under "Middle East" in the UNWTO.[2]

Americas

In 2019, there were 219.1 million international tourist arrivals to the Americas, an increase of 1.5%.[1] In 2019, the top ten destinations were:

Rank Destination International
tourist
arrivals
(2019)[1]		 International
tourist
arrivals
(2018)[1]		Change
(2018 to
2019)
(%)		Change
(2017 to
2018)
(%)
1 United States79.3 million79.7 million 0.6 3.3
2 Mexico45.0 million41.3 million 9.0 5.1
3 Canada22.1 million21.1 million 4.8 1.2
4 Argentina7.4 million6.9 million 6.6 3.4
5 Dominican Republic6.4 million6.6 million 1.9 6.2
6 Brazil6.4 million6.6 million 4.1 0.5
7 Chile4.5 million5.7 million 21.1 11.3
8 Peru4.4 million4.4 million 1.1 9.6
9 Cuba4.3 million4.7 million 9.0 2.0
10 Colombia4.2 million4.0 million 3.4 10.7

Asia-Pacific

In 2019, there were 360.7 million international tourist arrivals to Asia-Pacific, an increase of 4.1% over 2018.[1] In 2019, the top ten destinations were:

Rank Destination International
tourist
arrivals
(2019)[1]		 International
tourist
arrivals
(2018)[1]		Change
(2018 to
2019)
(%)		Change
(2017 to
2018)
(%)
1 China65.7 million62.9 million 4.5 3.6
2 Thailand39.8 million38.2 million 4.3 7.3
3 Japan32.2 million31.2 million 3.2 8.7
4 Malaysia26.1 million25.8 million 1.0 0.4
5 Hong Kong23.8 million29.3 million 18.8 4.9
6 Macau18.6 million18.5 million 0.8 7.2
7 Vietnam18.0 million15.5 million 16.2 19.9
8 India17.9 million17.4 million 2.8 12.1
9 South Korea17.5 million15.3 million 14.0 15.1
10 Indonesia15.5 million13.4 million 15.4 3.5

Europe

In 2019, there were 744.3 million international tourist arrivals to Europe, an increase of 3.9% over 2017.[1] In 2019, the top ten destinations were:

Rank Destination International
tourist
arrivals
(2019)[1]		 International
tourist
arrivals
(2018)[1]		Change
(2018 to
2019)
(%)		Change
(2017 to
2018)
(%)
1 France90.0 million[3]89.4 million- 2.9
2 Spain83.7 million82.8 million 1.1 1.1
3 Italy64.5 million61.6 million 4.8 5.7
4 Turkey51.2 million45.8 million 11.9 21.7
5 Germany39.6 million38.9 million 1.8 3.8
6 United Kingdom39.4 million38.7 million 1.9 2.2
7 Austria31.9 million30.8 million 3.5 4.6
8 Greece31.3 million30.1 million 4.1 10.8
9 Portugal24.6 million22.8 million 7.9 7.5
10 Russia24.4 million24.6 million 0.5 0.7

Middle East

In 2019, there were 61.4 million international tourist arrivals to the Middle East (excluding Iran and Israel), an increase of 2.1% over 2018. In 2019, the top ten destinations were:

Rank Destination International
tourist
arrivals
(2019)[1]		 International
tourist
arrivals
(2018)[1]		Change
(2018 to
2019)
(%)		Change
(2017 to
2018)
(%)
1 Saudi Arabia17.5 million15.5 million 13.0 3.7
2 United Arab Emirates16.7 million15.9 million 5.1 0.8
3 Egypt13.0 million11.3 million 14.8 36.8
4 Iran9.1 million7.3 million 24.4 49.9
5 Israel4.6 million4.1 million 10.5 14.1
6 Jordan4.5 million4.2 million 8.1 8.0
7 Bahrain3.8 million4.4 million 11.8 0.2
8 Oman2.5 million2.3 million 8.6 0.6
9 Qatar2.1 million1.8 million 17.4 19.4
10 Lebanon1.9 million2.0 million 1.4 5.8
Note: Iran is classified as part of "South Asia" in the UNWTO.[2]

Israel is classified as part of "Southern/Medit.Europe" in the UNWTO.[2]

International tourism receipts

International tourism receipts grew to US$14,878 billion in 2019, corresponding to an increase in real terms of 1.6% from 2018.[1] The World Tourism Organization reports the following destinations as the top ten tourism earners for the year 2019, with the United States by far the top earner.

Rank Region International
tourism
receipts

(US$ billion)
(2019)[1]

 International
tourism
receipts

(US$ billion)
(2018)[1]

 Change
(local currency)
(2018 to 2019)
(%)
1 United States214.1214.7 0.3%
2 Spain79.781.7 2.9%
3 France63.866.0 1.9%
4 Thailand60.556.4 3.2%
5 United Kingdom52.750.0 10.1%
6 Italy49.649.3 6.2%
7 Japan46.142.1 8.0%
8 Australia45.745.0 9.1%
9 Germany41.643.0 2.2%
10 China40.140.4 1.6%

Africa

Rank Region International
tourism
receipts
(US$ million)
(2019)[1]
1 Egypt13,030
2 South Africa8,384
3 Morocco8,179
4 Tanzania2,605
5 Tunisia2,116
6 Mauritius1,779
7 Uganda1,463
8 Nigeria1,449
9 Ghana1,425
10 Kenya1,072*
Note: Number for Kenya is for 2018.

Americas

Rank Region International
tourism
receipts
(US$ million)
(2019)[1]
1 United States214,134
2 Canada28,012
3 Mexico24,573
4 Dominican Republic7,468
5 Brazil5,995
6 Colombia5,652
7 Argentina5,241
8 Panama4,521
9 Bahamas4,126
10 Costa Rica4,010

Asia-Pacific

Rank Region International
tourism
receipts
(US$ million)
(2019)[1]
1 Thailand60,521
2 Japan46,054
3 Australia45,709
4 Macau40,060
5 China35,832
6 India30,720
7 Hong Kong29,043
8 South Korea21,628
9 Singapore20,052
10 Malaysia19,823

Europe

Rank Region International
tourism
receipts
(US$ million)
(2019)[1]
1 Spain79,714
2 France63,801
3 United Kingdom50,437
4 Italy49,596
5 Germany41,638
6 Turkey29,829
7 Austria22,942
8 Portugal20,633
9 Greece20,351
10 Netherlands18,487
11 Switzerland17,042

Middle East

Rank Region International
tourism
receipts
(US$ million)
(2019)[1]
1 United Arab Emirates21,800
2 Saudi Arabia16,382
3 Egypt13,030
4 Lebanon8,593
5 Israel7,600
6 Jordan5,786
7 Qatar5,442
8 Iran4,402*
9 Bahrain3,681
10 Iraq3,593
Note: Number for Iran is for 2017.

International tourism expenditures

The World Tourism Organization reports the following source countries as the top ten spenders on international tourism for the year 2019, with China by far being the top spender:

Rank Country International
tourism
expenditure
(2019)[1]		 International
tourism
expenditure
(2018)[1]		 Change
(local currency)
(2017 to 2018)
(%) [1]
1 China$254.6 billion$277.3 billion 4.2
2 United States$152.3 billion$144.5 billion 5.4
3 Germany$93.2 billion$95.6 billion 2.9
4 United Kingdom$71.9 billion$70.9 billion 6.0
5 France$51.7 billion$48.9 billion 11.5
6 Russia$36.2 billion$34.3 billion 5.5
7 Australia$36.0 billion$37.0 billion 4.6
8 Canada$35.8 billion$34.5 billion 6.1
9 South Korea$32.3 billion$35.1 billion 8.1
10 Italy$30.3 billion$30.1 billion 6.3

See also

References

  1. "UNWTO World Tourism Barometer and Statistical Annex, December 2020 | World Tourism Organization". 18. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  2. "WTO/ Member States of Middle East". World Tourism Organization. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
  3. étrangères, Ministère de l'Europe et des Affaires. "Tourism". France Diplomacy - Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs. Retrieved 25 July 2021.