Year 2024 marked the recovery of international tourism from the worst crisis in the sector’s history with 1.4 billion international tourist arrivals recorded globally
According to the latest World Tourism Barometer by UN Tourism , international tourism virtually recovered (99%) pre-pandemic levels in 2024, with most destinations exceeding 2019 numbers. An estimated 1.4 billion international tourists (overnight visitors) were recorded around the world in 2024, an increase of 11% over 2023, or 140 million more (UN Tourism World Tourism Barometer January 2025 -Excerpt) . While a global recovery was achieved in 2024, results vary across regions. Europe , the Middle East and Africa all surpassed pre-pandemic numbers in 2024, while the Americas came close (-3%) and Asia and the Pacific remained 13% below 2019 levels due to slower lifting of restrictions (UN Tourism World Tourism Barometer January 2025 -Excerpt) . Across individual destinations, Maldives posted the highest growth in the region (+20% versus 2019), followed by Japan (+16%) which benefitted from the depreciation of the yen and enhanced connectivity. Fiji saw 10% more international ar...