China leads international travel spending and positively impacts global tourism

In 2022, the list of top spenders was headed by the United States. France, Spain and the United States occupied the first places as the most visited destinations.  

Top tourism spenders in 2023

Chinese spending on overseas travel reached $196.5 billion in 2023, ahead of the United States ($150 billion), Germany ($112 billion), the United Kingdom ($110 billion) and France ($49 billion). millions of dollars). The top ten spending countries in 2023 are Canada, Italy, India, the Russian Federation and the Republic of Korea. India jumped to eighth place, from 14th in 2019, confirming the country's growing importance as an outbound market, while Italy rose from tenth to seventh place.

Leaders in arrivals and receipts: France, Spain and the US consolidate their positions

France consolidated its position as the world's most visited destination in 2023 with 100 million international tourist arrivals. Spain came in second place with 85 million, followed by the United States (66 million), Italy (57 million) and Türkiye, which closed the top five with 55 million international tourists.  

Completing the top ten most visited destinations in 2023 are Mexico, the United Kingdom, Germany, Greece and Austria. Compared to before the pandemic, Italy, Turkey, Mexico, Germany and Austria rose one position, while the United Kingdom rose from 10th to 7th place and Greece from 13th to 9th.

Regarding international tourism income, the ranking is led by the United States, which will earn 176 billion dollars in 2023, followed by Spain (92 billion dollars), the United Kingdom (74 billion dollars), France ( 69 billion dollars) and Italy. (56 billion dollars).

Following the above, the destinations that will gain the most from international tourism in 2023 include the United Arab Emirates, Türkiye, Australia, Canada, Japan, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Macau (China), India and Mexico, which complete the list of the 15 main generators of tourism income.  

Upward moves in the ranking among top earners include the United Kingdom jumping to third position from fifth before the pandemic, the United Arab Emirates from 13 to 6, Turkey from 12 to 7, Canada from 15 to 9, Saudi Arabia from the 27th to the 12th, and Mexico from the 17th to the 15th.  

Croatia (32nd to 25th), Morocco (41st to 31st) and the Dominican Republic (43rd to 34th) also rose in the top 50 ranking by income in 2023, as did Qatar (51st to 37th) and Colombia (from 50). to 44).

Looking ahead to a full global recovery in 2024

According to the latest World Tourism Barometer, in 2023 international tourist arrivals recovered 89% of 2019 levels and 97% in the first quarter of 2024. The UN Tourism projection for 2024 points to a full recovery of International tourism with arrivals set to grow 2% above 2019 levels, supported by strong demand, increased air connectivity and the continued recovery of China and other important Asian markets.

Total export earnings from international tourism, including both revenue and passenger transportation, reached approximately $1.7 trillion in 2023, about 96% of pre-pandemic levels in real terms. Direct tourism GDP recovered to pre-pandemic levels in 2023, reaching an estimated $3.3 trillion, equivalent to 3% of global GDP. 

Source: UN Tourism