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International tourist arrivals doubled in 2022: UN

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Daniel Silva, Agence France-Presse

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Tourists enjoy the beach in Boracay’s Station 2 on February 12, 2022. ABS-CBN News/File" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2023/news/01/18/20220212-covid-boracay-tourists-aa-8956.jpg"/><figcaption>Tourists enjoy the beach in Boracay’s Station 2 on February 12, 2022. <em>ABS-CBN News/File</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>MADRID—International tourist arrivals doubled in 2022 over the previous year, and should reach near pre-pandemic levels in 2023 thanks to the lifting of travel restrictions, especially in China, the UN&#x27;s tourism body said Tuesday.</p><p>There were 917 million global tourist arrivals last year, up from 455 million in 2021, the Madrid-based World Tourism Organization said in a report, calling it &quot;stronger than expected results&quot;.</p><p>While the number of international arrivals last year was still just 63 percent of the level posted in 2019 before the Covid-19 pandemic hit, the UN body predicts it could reach 80 percent to 95 percent in 2023.</p><p>&quot;A new year brings more reason for optimism for global tourism,&quot; the body&#x27;s secretary-general, Zurab Pololikashvili, said in a statement.</p><p>The report said international tourism is set to consolidate its recovery in 2023, backed by pent-up demand, particularly from Asia and the Pacific as destinations and markets open up.</p><p>&quot;In the short term, the resumption of travel from China is likely to benefit Asian destinations in particular,&quot; it added.</p><p>&quot;At the same time, robust demand from the United States, backed by a strong US dollar, will continue to benefit destinations in the region and beyond. Europe, in particular, will benefit.&quot;</p><p>Travel in and out of China dropped dramatically from 2019 levels under Beijing&#x27;s strict Covid curbs which all-but shut China&#x27;s borders for three years before they were reopened earlier this month.</p><p>The restrictions had left a gaping hole in the Asian travel market, where countries from Thailand to Japan had depended on China as their largest source of foreign visitors.</p><p>Analysts expect Chinese airlines are likely to make significant increases to capacity from the end of March, with the start of the summer scheduling season.</p><p>China was the world&#x27;s largest outbound tourist market in 2019 and the removal of its virus travel restrictions &quot;is a significant and much welcomed step to the recovery of the tourism sector,&quot; the report said.</p><p>But the UN body warned that high inflation and interest rates, fears of a global recession and the &quot;uncertainty derived from the Russian aggression against Ukraine&quot; could hamper the recovery of the sector in 2023.</p><p>&quot;Tourists are expected to increasingly seek value for money and travel close to home in response to the challenging economic environment,&quot; it added.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/01/15/23/tingnan-bagong-tourism-incentive-program-ng-dot-ipinakilala-sa-norway">TINGNAN: Bagong tourism incentive program ng DOT, ipinakilala sa Norway</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/01/06/23/more-the-merrier-asia-tourist-hubs-ready-for-china-influx">&#x27;More the merrier&#x27;: Asia tourist hubs ready for China influx</a></li></ul><div><strong>STRONG SPENDING</strong></div><p>Europe, the world&#x27;s most popular destination region, recorded 585 million arrivals last year, nearly 80 percent of its pre-pandemic level, due in part to a &quot;particularly strong&quot; summer season.</p><p>But Africa and the Americas only recovered to about 65 percent of pre-pandemic visitors, while Asia and the Pacific region reached only 23 percent due to stronger pandemic-related restrictions.</p><p>Most destinations also recorded &quot;notable increases&quot; in international tourism receipts, buoyed by people going on vacation for longer periods, a willingness to spend more on travel and rising costs due to inflation.</p><p>Traditional markets, like France and Germany, and emerging markets like India and Saudi Arabia, posted &quot;strong&quot; spending numbers last year.</p><p>Several destinations, including Mexico, Portugal and Romania, even reported tourism receipts above their pre-pandemic levels last year.</p><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO</strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=2396288" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div>

There were 917 million global tourist arrivals last year, up from 455 million in 2021, the Madrid-based World Tourism Organization said in a report.

International tourist arrivals doubled in 2022: UN

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International tourist arrivals doubled in 2022: UN

Daniel Silva,

Agence France-Presse

Published Jan 18, 2023 06:53 AM PHT

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World Tourism Organization

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