MADRID, Spain — International tourism demand continued to be robust between Jan. and April 2015 with tourist arrivals increasing four per cent worldwide, according to the latest UNWTO World Tourism Barometer.
“It is encouraging to see the tourism sector consolidating its excellent results despite security concerns and unrest in many parts of our world”, said UNWTO Secretary-General, Taleb Rifai. “This underscores that tourism is a surprisingly resilient economic sector, which increasingly contributes to development in many countries around the globe. For national governments, it is a reminder that tourism can be part of the solution to foster socio-economic development and job creation,” he added.
In the Americas, all four sub-regions continued to see significant growth (six per cent) between January to April 2015, led by South America (eight per cent) and the Caribbean (seven per cent). Europe, the world’s most visited region, saw international tourist arrivals grow by five per cent, with Asia and the Pacific seeing a four per cent growth.
According to the forecast issued by UNWTO in January, international tourist arrivals are expected to increase by three to four per cent for the full year, in line with UNWTO’s long-term forecast of 3.8 per cent a year for the period 2010 to 2020.
For more details on the UNWTO World Tourism Barometer, visit mkt.unwto.org
