Tourism Brings 1 Billion in Travellers in 2012

Just recently, the UNWTO (United Nations World Tourism Organisation) announced a record breaking statistic of 1 billion travellers in the year 2012. An increase of 4% from 2011’s 990 million travellers that crossed international borders.

With the current economic crisis, this number only reinforces the importance of tourism and its positive effect on local economies and destinations around the world. The UNWTO stated that this statistic only further “cements tourism’s position as one of the world’s largest economic sectors…” A reported 9% of global GPD stems from tourism as well as 8% of world exports.

A total of 51% of tourists travel for leisure with more than 53% of them coming from Europe. Even more staggering, more than 50% of tourists are travelling to emerging economic destinations, a 5% increase from 2011.

Which brings up the question, will tourism ever fade away or die out? With statistics like these it’s safe to say tourism has a secure future ahead of itself with plenty of growth.

Written by, Emily Ziolkowski