Global tourism will exceed one billion travelers in 2014
Global tourism is set to post a new record of over 1 billion trips this year.
The UNWTO Tourism Barometer report says a total of 1.1 billion international tourists will have traveled by the end of this year.
From January to October 2014, it recorded 978 million overnight stays, a 5% increase on the same period last year.
Regionally, North America led the way with 9% growth, South Asia was up 8% and Europe showed a 4% increase in visitor numbers.
"In view of this trend, international tourism is set to end 2014 with record numbers", said UNWTO Secretary-General, Taleb Rifai.
These are remarkable results considering that different parts of the world continue to face significant geopolitical and health challenges, while the global economic recovery remains rather fragile and uneven."
"More importantly, we see a growing political commitment to the tourism sector in many countries."
Tourism in the Americas recovered significantly compared to last year and registered its best performance for a decade.
All sub-regions – North America, the Caribbean, Central America and South America -recorded double the growth rate of 2013, with North America and Mexico standout performers.
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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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