UNWTO’s new Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili announces international tourism statistics for 2017. COTRI annual data also confirmed

The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) has announced in its latest UNWTO World Tourism Barometer that international tourist arrivals (overnight visitors) reached 1,322 million in 2017, representing a year-on-year growth rate of 7%. This figure is forecast to grow by a further 4-5% in 2018.

2017’s statistics showed a pattern of sustained increases in visitor numbers in many destinations, while others that had struggled in recent years returning to positive growth patterns. The Asia-Pacific region recorded a year-on-year growth rate of 6%.

“International travel continues to grow strongly, consolidating the tourism sector as a key driver in economic development. As the third export sector in the world, tourism is essential for job creation and the prosperity of communities around the world.” UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili announced upon the publication of the most recent UNWTO World Tourism Barometer. “Yet as we continue to grow we must work closer together to ensure this growth benefits every member of every host community, and is in line with the Sustainable Development Goals”.

Furthermore, COTRI has upheld its forecast total of Chinese outbound border crossings for 2017 as made 12 months ago. Accordingly, COTRI’s confirmed figure for the year is 145 million border crossings made by Mainland Chinese passport holders, 77 million (over 53%) of which ended in destinations beyond Greater China. This is forecast to grow at a rate of 6.2% in 2018 to a total of 154 million, which is projected to consist of 68.4 million trips within Greater China and 85.6 million to destinations beyond the region.

To see COTRI’s up-to-date Chinese outbound statistics as they become available, please see https://china-outbound.com/info/

Image: Let’s takeoff by Tagosaku, Source: Flickr, Attribution-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic (CC BY-ND 2.0)