International tourism moved from a historic shock into a broad recovery across 2023 and 2024. The latest figures show 1.4 billion international arrivals worldwide in 2024, while tourism receipts reached USD 1.5 trillion in 2023.
International tourism statistics at a glance
- 1.4 billion: international tourist arrivals worldwide in 2024 (UN Tourism 2024 recovery release).
- 1.5 billion: projected global arrivals by the end of 2024 (OECD Tourism Trends and Policies 2024).
- USD 1.5 trillion: international tourism receipts in 2023 (UN Tourism first quarter 2024 barometer).
- USD 3.3 trillion: estimated tourism direct GDP in 2023, equal to 3% of global GDP (UN Tourism first quarter 2024 barometer).
- 747 million: international arrivals in Europe in 2024 (UN Tourism 2024 recovery release).
- 316 million: international arrivals in Asia and the Pacific in 2024 (UN Tourism Asia-Pacific members release).
- 85.0 million: international tourist arrivals in Spain in 2023 (OECD Spain report 2024).
- 98 million: international tourist arrivals in France in 2023 (OECD France report 2024).
These figures measure different things and periods. Arrivals count international tourist trips recorded by destinations, while receipts measure tourism spending. Forecasts and estimates are identified separately from recorded totals.
Global arrivals and the post-pandemic recovery
An estimated 1.3 billion international tourists traveled to destinations worldwide in 2023. That was 89% of the pre-pandemic level (OECD Tourism Trends and Policies 2024). The following year brought a stronger recovery: UN Tourism recorded 1.4 billion international tourist arrivals in 2024, about 99% of pre-pandemic levels. The 2024 total was 11% higher than 2023, equivalent to 140 million additional arrivals (UN Tourism 2024 recovery release).
The early data also showed momentum before the full-year 2024 figure was available. Around 790 million tourists traveled internationally in the first seven months of 2024. That was 11% above the same period in 2023 and 4% below the same period in 2019 (UN Tourism July 2024 barometer release).
The first quarter of 2025 was above both comparison periods supplied by UN Tourism: international tourist arrivals were 5% higher than in the first quarter of 2024 and 3% above first-quarter 2019 levels (UN Tourism homepage 2025 update). Those are quarterly comparisons, not a full-year 2025 result.
For another view of the rebound, 975 million tourists traveled internationally from January through September 2023. That was 38% higher than the same period in 2022. Third-quarter 2023 arrivals were 22% higher than in the third quarter of 2022 and reached 91% of pre-pandemic levels. July 2023 reached 92% of pre-pandemic arrivals, the strongest month since the pandemic began (UN Tourism November 2023 release).
| Measure | Period | Result |
|---|---|---|
| International arrivals worldwide | 2023 | 1.3 billion estimated; 89% of pre-pandemic level |
| International arrivals worldwide | 2024 | 1.4 billion; about 99% of pre-pandemic level |
| International travel | Jan–Jul 2024 | 790 million tourists; 4% below 2019 |
| International arrivals worldwide | Q1 2025 | 3% above Q1 2019 |
Tourism receipts, exports, and economic scale
International tourism’s financial recovery has been substantial. Tourism receipts reached USD 1.5 trillion in 2023. That was a complete recovery in nominal terms and 97% of the pre-pandemic level in real terms (UN Tourism first quarter 2024 barometer).
When passenger transport is included with tourism receipts, total export revenues from international tourism reached USD 1.7 trillion in 2023. In real terms, that was about 96% of the pre-pandemic level (UN Tourism first quarter 2024 barometer). The distinction matters: the USD 1.5 trillion figure covers receipts, while the USD 1.7 trillion figure also includes passenger transport.
Tourism direct GDP was estimated at USD 3.3 trillion in 2023, equivalent to 3% of global GDP (UN Tourism first quarter 2024 barometer). This is an estimate for tourism’s direct economic contribution, not a count of visitor spending alone.
Regional receipts were uneven. Europe generated USD 660 billion in international tourism receipts in 2023, and its receipts were 7% above pre-pandemic levels in real terms. The Middle East was 33% above 2019 levels. The Americas recovered 96% of pre-pandemic tourism earnings, Africa recovered 95%, and Asia and the Pacific reached 78% of its pre-crisis receipts (UN Tourism first quarter 2024 barometer).
The first quarter of 2024 also showed sharp receipt growth in several destinations compared with the first quarter of 2019. Serbia’s tourism receipts were 127% above 2019 levels, followed by Türkiye at 82%, Pakistan at 72%, Tanzania at 62%, Portugal at 61%, Romania at 57%, Japan at 53%, Mongolia at 50%, Mauritius at 46%, and Morocco at 44% (UN Tourism first quarter 2024 barometer). These are first-quarter comparisons, not full-year results.
Regional international tourism statistics
Europe remained the largest regional destination in the supplied 2024 arrival figures, with 747 million international arrivals. That was 1% above 2019 levels and 5% above 2023 (UN Tourism 2024 recovery release).
The Middle East recorded 95 million international arrivals in 2024. Its total was 32% above pre-pandemic levels and 1% higher than 2023. Africa recorded 74 million arrivals, 7% above 2019 and 12% above 2023 (UN Tourism 2024 recovery release).
The Americas recorded 213 million international arrivals in 2024 and recovered 97% of pre-pandemic arrivals. Caribbean destinations and Central America had already exceeded 2019 arrival levels by 2024 (UN Tourism 2024 recovery release).
Asia and the Pacific welcomed 316 million international arrivals in 2024, reaching 87% of pre-pandemic arrivals. The region improved from 66% recovery at the end of 2023 to 87% in 2024 (UN Tourism Asia-Pacific members release).
The strongest above-2019 arrival figures listed for 2024 were El Salvador at 81%, Saudi Arabia at 69%, Ethiopia at 40%, Morocco at 35%, Guatemala at 33%, and the Dominican Republic at 32% (UN Tourism 2024 recovery release). These are destination-specific comparisons with 2019, not rankings of total visitor volume.
OECD tourism recovery and market concentration
OECD countries recovered to 77.3% of their 2019 international tourist arrivals by the end of 2022. In that year, they accounted for 65% of international tourism arrivals, compared with 56% in 2019 (OECD Tourism Trends and Policies 2024).
The shock is visible in the 2020 comparisons. International tourist arrivals to OECD countries declined 68.3% in 2020, while the global decline was 72.3%. By the end of 2022, international travel receipts in OECD countries had recovered to 82.3% of 2019 levels. OECD countries accounted for 67.1% of international travel receipts in 2022, up from 61.4% in 2019 (OECD Tourism Trends and Policies 2024).
Several OECD destinations were above their 2019 arrival levels in 2023. Colombia was 34% above 2019, Portugal was 12.1% above, Luxembourg was 2.1% above, Spain was 2.0% above, the Netherlands was 1.4% above, and Norway was 1.2% above 2019 levels (OECD Tourism Trends and Policies 2024). Portugal welcomed 19.4 million international tourists in 2023.
Major country destination statistics
The United States recorded 66.5 million international tourist arrivals in 2023. That was 84% of its 2019 level and 246% above the 2020 pandemic low of 19.2 million (OECD United States report 2024).
Canada supplied 31% of U.S. international tourist arrivals in 2023, Mexico supplied 22%, the United Kingdom supplied 6%, Germany supplied 3%, and India supplied 3% (OECD United States report 2024). The same report forecast U.S. international visitation at 77.7 million in 2024, 85.2 million in 2025, 91.1 million in 2026, and 96.8 million in 2028. These are forecasts, not recorded totals.
Spain recorded 85.0 million international tourist arrivals in 2023, 1.8% above 2019. The United Kingdom supplied 17.3 million arrivals to Spain, France supplied 11.8 million, and Germany supplied nearly 11 million (OECD Spain report 2024).
France recorded 98 million international tourist arrivals in 2023, above the 90.9 million recorded in 2019. France recorded 41.7 million arrivals in 2020. Its international tourism revenues fell to EUR 28.5 billion in 2020 and recovered to EUR 56.7 billion in 2022 (OECD France report 2024).
Iceland welcomed 2.2 million international tourist arrivals in 2023. That was 30.4% above 2022 and 11.1% above 2019 (OECD Iceland report 2024). Australia recorded 7.2 million international visitor arrivals in 2023, equal to 75.9% of its 2019 level (OECD Australia report 2024).
Source markets and national travel patterns
New Zealand’s leading source market in 2022 was Australia, accounting for 60% of international tourist arrivals. The United States accounted for 8%, the United Kingdom for 6%, and China for 1%, down from 11% in 2019 (OECD New Zealand report 2024).
New Zealand’s total tourism expenditure reached NZD 30 billion in the year ending September 2023. That was only 0.3% below the same period in 2019 (OECD New Zealand report 2024).
Korea recorded approximately 11.0 million international tourists in 2023, equal to 63% of 2019 levels. The United States supplied 17% of Korea’s international visitors, Japan supplied 9%, and China supplied 7% (OECD Korea report 2024).
Local-currency receipt comparisons provide another measure of recovery, but they should not be read as U.S.-dollar comparisons. In 2024, Kuwait’s tourism receipts were 232% above 2019 levels in local-currency terms. El Salvador was 206% above, Saudi Arabia 148% above, Albania 136% above, Serbia 98% above, the Republic of Moldova 86% above, and Canada 70% above (UN Tourism 2024 recovery release).
These measures cover different years, currencies, geographies, and definitions. Reading the measurement period and unit alongside each international tourism statistic is essential when comparing destinations, regional recoveries, and travel markets.