UNWTO World Tourism Barometer and Statistical Annex, July 2022

Abstract

International tourism consolidates its strong recovery despite growing challenges International tourism saw a strong rebound in the first five months of 2022, with arrivals reaching almost half (46%) the levels of the same period of 2019. International tourist arrivals (overnight visitors) more than tripled (+221%) in January-May 2022 over 2021, but remained 54% below 2019 levels. Nearly 250 million international trips were recorded worldwide through May 2022. This compares with the 77 million arrivals seen in the same months of 2021. By regions, Europe and the Americas continued to lead the recovery. Europe welcomed more than four times as many international arrivals as in the first five months of 2021 (+350%). In the Americas (+112%) arrivals more than doubled. Despite the strong rebound, arrivals remained 36% and 40% below 2019 levels in Europe and the Americas respectively. The Middle East (+157%) and Africa (+156%) also saw strong growth in January-May 2022 over 2021 but remained 54% and 50% below 2019 levels respectively. Asia and the Pacific saw arrivals almost double (+94%), though numbers were still 90% below 2019, as some borders remained closed to non-essential travel. By subregions, the Caribbean (-18%) and Central America (-27%) showed the fastest recovery towards 2019 levels, along with Southern Mediterranean Europe, Western Europe and Northern Europe. Tourism expenditure from France climbed to -15% in January-May 2022 compared to 2019, while German spending stood at -23%, Italy at -27% and the United States at -31%. Spending from India, Saudi Arabia and Qatar exceeded pre-pandemic levels. Strong tourism demand during the Northern Hemisphere summer season is expected to consolidate these positive results, particularly as more destinations ease or lift travel restrictions. However, mounting economic and geopolitical challenges continue to pose a risk to recovery. UNWTO’s forward-looking scenarios published in May 2022 point to international arrivals reaching 55% to 70% of pre-pandemic levels in 2022. Scenarios by region show Europe (65% to 80% of 2019 levels) and Americas (63% to 76%) recording the best tourism results in 2022. In Africa and the Middle East arrivals could reach about 50% to 70% of pre-pandemic levels, while in Asia and the Pacific they would remain at 30% of 2019 levels in the best-case scenario, due to stricter policies and restrictions.