World destinations welcomed 22% more international tourists in the third quarter of 2023 compared to the same period last year, reflecting a strong Northern Hemisphere summer season (UNWTO Tourism Barometer November 2023 – Press Release).
An estimated 975 million tourists travelled internationally between January and September
2023, an increase of 38% over the same months of 2022, though 13% fewer than in 2019 (UNWTO Tourism Barometer November 2023-Excerpt).
Overall, tourism recovered 87% of pre-pandemic levels in January-September 2023. That puts the sector on course to recover almost 90% by the end of the year. And international tourism receipts could reach USD 1.4 trillion in 2023, about 93% of the USD 1.5 trillion earned by destinations in 2019 (UNWTO Tourism Barometer November 2023 – Press Release).
Asia and the Pacific reached 62% of pre-pandemic levels this period due to slower reopening to international travel. However, performance among subregions is mixed, with South Asia recovering 95% of pre-pandemic levels but North-East Asia only about 50% (UNWTO Tourism Barometer November 2023 – Press Release).
According to Trip.com, global search results for inbound travel to China have significantly improved in Q3 2023 by nearly 40% compared to Q2. In terms of Chinese outbound travel, hotel and air ticket reservations made have already recovered 80% of pre-pandemic levels in Q3. This show signs of gradual recovery of cross-border traffic further to China’s reopening of borders early this year. On 24 November, China announced a unilateral 15-
day visa-free entry policy for holders of ordinary passports from France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and Malaysia, during the period from 1 December 2023 to 30 November 2024 (UNWTO Tourism Barometer November 2023-Excerpt).
International tourism is well on track to fully recover pre-pandemic levels in 2024 despite economic challenges such as high inflation and weaker global output, as well as important geopolitical tensions and conflicts (UNWTO Tourism Barometer November 2023 – Press Release).
Read more on the UNWTO Tourism Barometer (November 2023 excerpt) here.
About the UNWTO World Tourism Barometer
The UNWTO World Tourism Barometer is a publication of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) that monitors short-term tourism trends regularly to provide global tourism stakeholders with up-to-date analysis of international tourism. The information is updated several times a year and includes an analysis of the latest data on tourism destinations (inbound tourism) and source markets (outbound tourism). The Barometer also includes three times a year Confidence Index based on the UNWTO Panel of Tourism Experts survey, which provides an evaluation of recent performance and short-term prospects for international tourism.
