While some destinations protest against mass tourism, UN Tourism – formerly the World Tourism Organization – released some results of what 2023 was like for the travel industry.
And the truth is that, after the pandemic, tourism had a recovery that moved in leaps and bounds. According to statistics from the latest World Tourism Barometer, In 2023, international tourist arrivals reached 89% of 2019 levels.
But also, already in the first quarter of 2024, they reached 97%.
That is why for this year the UN Tourism forecasts are more than encouraging and point to a full recovery of international tourism. They estimate that international arrivals will have a growth 2% above 2019 levels.
- strong demand
- improving air connectivity
- the continued recovery of China and other large Asian markets.
The most visited destinations in the world in 2023
France was the most visited destination in the world in 2023, with almost 100 million international tourist arrivals (98 million).
Second place went to Spainwhich achieved 85 million international visitors, followed in third place by USA with 66 million. Fourth place went to Italia (57 million) and the fifth for Türkiye (Türkiye), which closed the top five with 55 million international tourists.
Park Güell, one of Gaudí’s must-sees in Barcelona. Photo ShutterstockTo complete the list of the 10 most visited destinations throughout last year, we must mention Mexico, the United Kingdom, Germany, Greece and Austria.
If you compare it with the figures and the lists prior to the pandemicItaly, Türkiye, Mexico, Germany and Austria now rise one position in the ranking, while the United Kingdom went from 10th place to 7th place and Greece notably improved its place from 13th to 9th.
More income from tourism and more spending on trips abroad
Times Square, one of the most touristic spots in New York. Photo ShutterstockIt is important to clarify that “most visited country” is not equivalent to “country with the most tourism income”. In the economic area, the United States obtained the highest income from international tourism, with 176,000 million dollars in 2023, followed by Spain (US$ 92,000), the United Kingdom (US$ 74,000 million), France (US$ 69,000 million) and Italy (US$56 billion).
Another interesting fact is Which country spends the most on international tourism?. And in 2023, the first place went to Chinese travelers, who spent the most on trips abroad.