France still top destination

FRANCE retained its position as the world’s favourite tourism destination in 2016, the United Nations’ World Tourism Organisation ( UNWTO) said recently, defying concerns over terror attacks.

The United States came second followed closely by Spain, according to annual figures that the Madrid-based UNWTO normally announces in January, but which were delayed this year.

Although France stayed on top by welcoming 82.6 million visitors in 2016, that was a more than 2% drop from the previous year, the figures showed.

Repeated terror attacks had sparked concerns that tourism would drop substantially in France, known especially for its gastronomy and wine.

But the data indicated most visitors have not been put off by such attacks.

The number of tourists visiting the US was also down, falling 3% to 75.61 million, which saw the country narrowly maintain its second position as Spain experienced a 10% jump in visitors to 75.56 million.

Spain’s tourism industry has boomed partly because people who normally go to Turkey, Egypt or North Africa for their holidays are instead deciding to chase the sun in Spain, citing fears of unrest.

China came fourth in the ranking with just under 60 million visitors and Italy came fifth – the same as in 2015.

The classification is calculated according to the number of visitors who spend at least one night in a country. – AFPRelaxnews