International tourism shows sustained momentum at the start of 2025.




 International tourist arrivals (overnight visitors) increased 5% in January-March 2025 compared to the same period in 2024, or 3% more than in pre-pandemic year 2019.

 • This follows a landmark year in 2024, when international tourism fully recovered pre-pandemic levels to reach 1.5 billion.

 • Over 300 million tourists travelled internationally in the first three months of 2025, about 14 million more than in the same months of 2024.

 • Growth slowed after a strong start of the year, from 11% in January, to 3% in February and 2% in March (compared to 2024) though these results are partly due to the calendar effect, since Easter fell in April this year, instead of March in 2024.

 • February also had one day less, compared to leap year 2024, partly affecting traveller numbers that month. 

• Overall, the start of 2025 saw robust and sustained travel demand despite growing geopolitical and trade tensions, though results were mixed among regions and subregions. 

• Africa showed the strongest performance in Q1 2025 compared to same period in 2024, while the Americas, Europe and the Middle East saw comparatively more modest results. Asia and the Pacific continued to rebound strongly, though arrivals remained slightly below pre-pandemic levels (-8% compared to 2019)

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