Terror attacks hit North Africa holiday hotspots
Terrorist attacks on tourists in Tunisia and Egypt led to a sharp 8% fall in visitors to the whole of North Africa last year, while international tourism grew more than 4% to 1.18 billion.
Figures from the United Nations World Tourism Organisation show that holidaymakers are not only avoiding Egypt and Tunisia following last year’s attacks by Islamic State terrorists on tourists, but also Morocco.
Meanwhile, Europe, the Americas, and Asia and the Pacific all recorded about 5% growth in 2015.
Europe saw the number of visitors rise by 29 million to 609 million in 2015. Arrivals to the Americas were up by 9 million to 191 million and the Asia Pacific saw a 13 million increase to 277 million.
Arrivals to the Middle East increased by 3% to a total of 54 million.
The UNWTO has forecast further growth in international tourism of between 3.5% and 4.5% this year.
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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