International tourist arrivals grew by 5% in the first quarter of 2025

This represents a 5% increase over last year and is 3% more than in the pre-pandemic year of 2019. The strong performance occurred despite the sector facing a series of geopolitical and trade tensions, as well as high inflation in travel and tourism services.

UN Secretary-General for Tourism Zurab Pololikashvili said: "In every region of the world, tourism stands out as an important services sector, supporting millions of jobs and businesses of all sizes. The continued strong performance in international arrivals, coupled with increased visitor spending in many destinations, highlights the sector's resilience in the face of numerous challenges and is good news for economies and workers around the world."

In every region of the world, tourism stands out as an important service sector, supporting millions of jobs and businesses of all sizes.

Africa shows solid results, while Asia Pacific recovers strongly:

The World Tourism Barometer breaks down data for the first quarter of 2025 by region and subregion. The key figures are:

Europe welcomed 125 million international tourists in the first three months of the year, 2% more than in the first quarter of 2024 and 5% more than in the same period before the pandemic.

In southern Mediterranean Europe, arrivals increased by 2%, reflecting growing demand for off-season travel to some destinations.

Central and Eastern Europe has rebounded strongly (+8% compared to 2024), especially the Baltic destinations, although visitor numbers in the subregion remain below 2019 levels.

Africa saw 9% growth in arrivals in the first quarter of 2025 compared to 2024, exceeding pre-pandemic traveler numbers by 16%.

In the Americas, international arrivals increased by 2%, with several South American destinations (+13%) enjoying strong results during the Southern Hemisphere summer season.

The Middle East recorded 1% growth compared to 2024, a more moderate increase after the extraordinary performance of recent years. However, arrivals were 44% above pre-pandemic levels in the first quarter of the year.   

Arrivals in Asia and the Pacific grew by 12%, reaching 92% of pre-pandemic levels. Northeast Asia performed best among the world's subregions, with a 23% rebound in the first quarter of 2025, reaching 91% of 2019 levels.

According to IATA, demand for international air travel grew by 8% between January and March 2025 compared to the first quarter of 2024, while international air capacity increased by 7%. The overall occupancy rate in accommodation establishments reached 64% in March, virtually the same level as in March 2024 (65%). Sector indicators are available on the United Nations Tourism Data Dashboard.

Strong revenue growth in many destinations by early 2025:

Available data on international tourism receipts for the first quarter of 2025 show solid growth in visitor spending in many destinations:

Spain, the world's second-largest investor in tourism, recorded 9% growth in the first two months of 2025 (compared to the same period in 2024), following a notable 16% increase in 2024.

Also in Southern Mediterranean Europe, Turkey (+7%) posted solid results in the first quarter of 2025, as did Greece, Italy, and Portugal (all +4%).

France recorded 6% growth in international tourism revenue, Norway 20%, and Denmark 11% in the first quarter of 2025.

In Asia-Pacific, Japan continued to enjoy a rise in revenue in the first quarter (+34%), while Nepal (+18%), the Republic of Korea, and Mongolia (both +14%) also recorded double-digit growth.

The United States, the world's leading tourism revenue generator, recorded 3% growth in January-March 2025, following a 14% increase in 2024.

Tourism export revenues for 2024 have been revised upward to $2.0 trillion.

The revised data show that total international tourism export revenues (revenue and passenger transport) grew by 11% (in real terms) to reach a record $2 trillion in 2024, approximately 15% above pre-pandemic levels. This represents approximately 6% of total global exports of goods and services and 23% of global trade in services.

International tourism revenues, the main component of tourism services exports, grew by 11% to $1.7 trillion, also in real terms (adjusted for inflation and exchange rate fluctuations).

Average spending remained at USD 1,170 per international trip in 2024, above the pre-pandemic average of USD 1,000 (both in constant dollars).

International tourism revenue growth in 2024 was driven by strong spending in major source markets such as the United Kingdom (+16% compared to 2023), Canada (+13%), the United States (+12%), Australia (+8%), and France (+7%). China, the world's largest tourism investor, recorded a 30% increase in outbound tourism spending, reaching $251 billion, approximately 3% above pre-pandemic levels.

Other major markets that saw strong spending growth last year included Saudi Arabia (+17%), which has already seen significant growth in 2023, Spain (+14%), Belgium (+14%), the Netherlands (+13%) and Austria (+11%).

Looking ahead: Headwinds continue to pose significant risks:

The latest survey by the Tourism Expert Panel indicates that economic factors, including slower economic growth, high travel costs, and rising tariffs, are the three main challenges that could affect international tourism in 2025.

Uncertainty stemming from geopolitical and trade tensions is also weighing on travel confidence. Lower consumer confidence ranked fourth as the main factor impacting tourism this year, while geopolitical risks (excluding ongoing conflicts) ranked fifth.

According to the survey, tourists will continue to look for the best value for money, but they may also travel closer to home or take shorter trips.

Cautious optimism for the upcoming summer season in the Northern Hemisphere:

The latest UN Tourism Confidence Index reflects cautious optimism for the May-August 2025 period. Some 45% of Panel experts point to better (40%) or much better (5%) prospects for this 4-month period, while 33% expect a similar performance to the same period in 2024. Some 22% expect tourism performance to be worse.

Experts highlighted the uncertainty and unpredictability resulting from trade tariffs and their potential impact on travel sentiment.

Although a third of respondents expect little or no impact of trade tensions on tourism performance, about 25% expect some impact in the near future.

Despite global uncertainty, travel demand is expected to remain resilient. UN Tourism's January projection of 3% to 5% growth in international arrivals by 2025 remains unchanged.

Source: UN Tourism.