International tourism continues to recover from the crisis during the pandemic, Untwo reports.
The first seven months of 2023 saw strong tourism recovery in all regions of the world, driven by demand for international travel. Among them, the Middle East, Europe, and Africa took leading positions in the recovery of the global sector:
- The Middle East performed best in January-July with an increase of 20 percent;
- Europe reached 91 percent of pre-pandemic levels, driven by strong intra-regional demand and travel from the US;
- 92 percent of tourists returned to Africa and 87 percent to America;
- in the Asia-Pacific region, recovery accelerated to 61 percent.
In total, 700 million tourists visited the world from January to July this year. This is 43 percent more than the same year.
By the way, a record number of travelers was registered in July – their number reached 145 million.
“The extreme weather events we have witnessed in recent months, as well as the critical challenges of managing growing tourism flows, highlight the need to create a more inclusive, sustainable, and resilient sector,” said World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili.
According to UNWTO experts, the difficult economic environment remains an important factor in the effective recovery of international tourism in 2023. Thus, inflation and rising oil prices have led to an increase in transportation and living costs. This could impact spending for the rest of the year as tourists increasingly look for value for money, travel closer to home, and take shorter trips.
In 2023, international tourism is expected to reach 80-95 percent of pre-pandemic levels.