An estimated 1.1 billion tourists traveled internationally in the first nine months of 2024, as the global tourism sector recovered 98% of pre-pandemic levels.

According to the last barometer of World Tourism from the United Nations organization, by the end of the year, a full recovery is expected from the biggest crisis in the history of the sector, despite the economic, geopolitical, and climate challenges.

Four years after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, which brought global tourism to a standstill, the Barometer reflects the sector's remarkable recovery, with most regions already surpassing 2019 arrivals in the period January to September 2024.

The report also shows exceptional results in terms of international tourism revenues, with most destinations with available data recording double-digit growth compared to the year 2019.

“The strong growth seen in tourism receipts is excellent news for economies around the world. The fact that visitor spending is growing even faster than arrivals has a direct impact on millions of jobs and small businesses and contributes decisively to the balance of payments and tax revenues of many economies" said the Secretary-General of UN Tourism.

From the region, the report singles out the significant increase in tourist arrivals in Albania

77%, while for Serbia it is noted that it doubled the income from tourism.

International tourist arrivals rose sharply in the first nine months of 2024, driven by strong post-pandemic demand in Europe as well as the continued recovery of destinations in Asia and the Pacific. The addition of airlines and visa facilitation also affected international travel.

The Middle East continued to post record growth this nine months, up 29 percent compared to 2019, while Europe 1% and Africa 6% also exceeded 2019 levels. America recovered 97% of its pre-pandemic arrivals 3% compared to 2019. Asia and the Pacific reached 85% of 2019 levels compared to a 66% recovery in 2023.

Among the best performers in terms of earnings was Serbia 99% where receipts almost doubled (compared to the same months of 2019, as well as Pakistan 64%, Romania 61%, Japan ( 59 %, Portugal 51%, Nicaragua, and Tanzania (50%. Among the world's biggest gainers, Japan 59%, Turkey 41%, and France 27% all posted double-digit growth through September 2024.

Spain 36% and Italy 26% also reported strong visitor arrivals through August. The United Kingdom recorded gains of 43% higher, Canada 35%, and Australia 18%, throughout June 2024. As for the United States, the world's biggest tourism earner, it reported growth of 7% through September.

Data on international tourism spending reflects the same trend, especially among major source markets such as Germany 35% compared to 2019, the United States 33%, and France 11%.

Strong spending growth was also reported by the United Kingdom 46%, Australia 34%, Canada 28% and Italy 26%, throughout June 2024.

International tourist arrivals are expected to reach 2019 levels in 2024. International tourism receipts had practically reached pre-pandemic levels in 2023. While a large number of destinations have already surpassed pre-pandemic arrival numbers in 2023 or will do so in 2024, there is still room for recovery in some sub-regions and destinations.