International Tourism: Europe and Asia are growing the average

Figures provided by the WTO show growth by 5% in international tourist arrivals worldwide in the first nine months of the year.

According to the World Tourism Organization (WTO), the number of tourist arrivals in the first nine months of the year 2013 is 845 million worldwide, or 41 million more than for the same period in 2012. This global increase by 5% is notably driven by good results in Europe and Asia Pacific, as the two regions progressed by 6% in terms of tourist arrivals.

"Growth of International Tourism continues to be higher than expectations. It feeds economic growth in advanced economies and emerging economies alike and provides a much needed contribution for job creation, GDP growth and the balance of payments in many destinations," declared the Secretary General of the WTO, Taleb Rifai.

The Old Continent is doing better than initial forecasts suggested for 2013 thanks to the dynamism of the tourism activity in Central and Eastern Europe, where arrivals grew by 7%, and in Southern Europe and the Mediterranean, where a number of visits to the region increased by 6%. South-East Asia, meanwhile, was the engine for all of Asia Pacific with 12% growth in its number of tourist arrivals. After the Americas, up by 3% (4% for North America and 3% for Central America), follows Africa, with a 5% increase thanks to the recovery in North Africa (+5%). Generally speaking, tourism revenues follow the same trend as occupancy in countries.

In terms of source markets, Russia posted the strongest growth rate for the period, with a 29% increase in outbound travel expenses. Among the emerging countries, China remains in the lead and continues to progress, with an increase by 22%; Brazil follows with growth by 15%. By comparison, advanced economies showed weaker results as supply markets.