GLOBAL ARRIVALS UP 4% DURING JAN – APRIL 2015
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International tourism demand continued to be robust between January and April 2015 with tourist arrivals increasing 4 per cent worldwide, according to the latest UNWTO World Tourism Barometer. Almost all regions enjoyed strong growth. Prospects for the May-August period remain upbeat, with close to 500 million tourists expected to travel abroad during these four months.
Destinations worldwide received some 332 million international tourists (overnight visitors) between January and April 2015, 16 million more than the same period last year, corresponding to an increase of 4 per cent.
This result follows an increase of 4.3 per cent in 2014 and consolidates the upwards trend of international tourism in recent years (+4.5 per cent international tourist arrivals a year on average since 2010).
Optimistic prospects for the coming months
Close to 500 million tourists are estimated to travel abroad between May and August 2015, the Northern Hemisphere holiday peak season, a total that accounts for some 41% of all international tourist arrivals registered in a year.
According to the latest results of the UNWTO Tourism Confidence Index, prospects for this period continue to be bullish and are the highest for this period since the pre-crisis year 2007. The sentiment is positive among all regions and areas of activity.
Business intelligence tool ForwardKeys also shows healthy growth in international air travel reservations for May-August 2015. Overall bookings are up 5% thanks to strong demand for domestic air travel (+7%) and continued growth in international travel (+4%). By region, air reservations increased most in Asia and the Pacific, the Americas and Europe, while reservations to and from Africa and the Middle East are weaker.
According to the forecast issued by UNWTO in January this year, international tourist arrivals are expected to increase by 3 per cent to 4 per cent for the full year 2015, in line with UNWTO’s long-term forecast of 3.8 per cent a year for the period 2010 to 2020.