China continues to outpace the world in international tourism
AWESTERN BUREAU:
NEW United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) report shows that China continued its lead as global outbound travellers in international tourism in 2017.
China also outspent the rest of the world, with a whopping US$258 million, one-fifth of the world’s total tourism spend for 2017, which stood at US$1.3 trillion, some $94 billion more than 2016.
The news comes as UNWTO announced that international tourist arrivals grew seven per cent in 2017, the highest increase since 2010. Growth in arrivals was echoed by a strong increase in exports generated by tourism, which reached $1.6 trillion in 2017, making tourism the world’s third-largest export sector.
Showcasing the industry, which is the engine of growth for many societies, the UNWTO Tourism Highlights 2018 Edition shows that international tourist arrivals reached a total of 1,323 million in 2017, some 84 million more than the previous year, securing a new record.
“The sector has now seen uninterrupted growth in arrivals for eight straight years. The growth in 2017 was the highest since 2010, led by the increases by the regions of Europe and Africa, which saw a jump in arrivals of eight per cent and nine per cent, respectively,” said the UNWTO in a statement.
International tourism receipts increased by five per cent in 2017, the organisation pointed out, noting that in addition to the US$1.3 trillion in receipts that destinations earned, international tourism generated another US$240 billion from international passenger transport taken by non-residents.
“This raised total tourism exports to US$1.6 trillion, or US$4 billion a day, which corresponds to seven per cent of the world’s exports.”
These strong 2017 results were driven by sustained travel demand for destinations across all world regions, including a firm recovery by those that have suffered from security challenges in recent years, said the report.
Strong outbound demand from virtually all source markets, including rebounds from major emerging economies Brazil and the Russian Federation, benefited both advanced and emerging destinations.
“The new report also illustrates that China continues to lead global outbound travel,