According to the latest World Tourism Barometer by UN Tourism, international tourism virtually recovered (99%) pre-pandemic levels in 2024, with most destinations exceeding 2019 numbers. An estimated 1.4 billion international tourists (overnight visitors) were recorded around the world in 2024, an increase of 11% over 2023, or 140 million more (UN Tourism World Tourism Barometer January 2025 -Excerpt).
While a global recovery was achieved in 2024, results vary across regions. Europe, the Middle East and Africa all surpassed pre-pandemic numbers in 2024, while the Americas came close (-3%) and Asia and the Pacific remained 13% below 2019 levels due to slower
lifting of restrictions (UN Tourism World Tourism Barometer January 2025 -Excerpt).
Across individual destinations, Maldives posted the highest growth in the region (+20% versus 2019), followed by Japan (+16%) which benefitted from the depreciation of the yen and enhanced connectivity. Fiji saw 10% more international arrivals this period and Sri Lanka 7% more compared to 2019 (UN Tourism World Tourism Barometer January 2025 -Excerpt).
Read more on the UN Tourism World Tourism Barometer (January 2025 excerpt) here.
About the UNWTO World Tourism Barometer
The UN Tourism World Tourism Barometer is a publication of the World Tourism Organization (UN Tourism) 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 UN Tourism Panel of Tourism Experts survey, which provides an evaluation of recent performance and short-term prospects for international tourism.
