World Tourism rankings
The World Tourism rankings are compiled by the United Nations World Tourism Organization as part of their World Tourism Barometer publication, which is released three times throughout the year. In the publication, UN regions and subregions are ranked by the number of international visitor arrivals, by the revenue generated by inbound tourism, and by the expenditures of outbound travelers.
Most visited destinations by international tourist arrivals
In 2015, there were 1.186 billion international tourist arrivals worldwide, with a growth of 5% as compared to 1.133 billion in 2014.[1] The top 10 international tourism destinations in 2015 were:[1][2]
| Rank | Destination | UNWTO Region[3] |
International tourist arrivals (2015)[1] |
International tourist arrivals (2014)[4] | Change (2014 to 2015) (%) | Change (2014 to 2013) (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  France | Europe | 84.5 million | 83.7 million |  0.9 | 0.1 |
| 2 |  United States | North America | 77.5 million | 75.0 million | 3.3 | 7.2 |
| 3 |  Spain | Europe | 68.2 million | 64.9 million | 5.0 | 7.0 |
| 4 |  China | Asia | 56.9 million | 55.6 million | 2.3 |  0.1 |
| 5 |  Italy | Europe | 50.7 million | 48.6 million | 4.4 | 1.8 |
| 6 |  Turkey | Europe | 39.5 million | 39.8 million | 0.8 | 5.3 |
| 7 |  Germany | Europe | 35.0 million | 33.0 million | 6.0 | 4.6 |
| 8 |  United Kingdom | Europe | 34.4 million | 32.6 million | 5.6 | 5.0 |
| 9 |  Mexico | North America | 32.1 million | 29.3 million | 9.4 | 21.5 |
| 10 |  Russia | Europe | 31.3 million | 29.8 million | 5.0 | 5.3 |
Africa and the Middle East
Africa
In 2015, there were over 53 million international tourist arrivals to Africa, a decrease of 3% from 2014.[1] In 2015, the top ten African destinations were:[5]
| Rank | Destination | International tourist arrivals (2015)[4] |
International tourist arrivals (2014)[6] | Change (2014 to 2015) (%) | Change (2013 to 2014) (%) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Morocco | 10.2 million | 10.0 million | 9.4 | 7.2 | |
| 2 |  South Africa | 9.2 million | 9.1 million | 0.1 | 3.8 | |
| 3 |  Tunisia | 6.0 million | 6.2 million | 3.2 | 5.3 | |
| 4 |  Algeria | — | 2.7 million | — | 3.7 | |
| 5 |  Mozambique | — | 1.8 million | — | 10.7 | |
| 6 |  Zimbabwe | 1.8 million | 1.8 million | 2.6 | 2.1 | |
| 7 |  Kenya | — | 1.4 million | — | 11.5 | |
| 8 |  Uganda | — | 1.2 million | — | 0.8 | |
| 9 |  Namibia | — | 1.1 million | — | 9.0 | |
| 10 |  Senegal | — | 1.0 million | — | 10.5 | |
| Note: Egypt is classified under "Middle East" in UNWTO's scheme.[7] | ||||||
Middle East
In 2015, there were over 53 million international tourist arrivals to the Middle East, an increase of 2.0% over 2014. In 2015, the top ten destinations were:[5][8]
| Rank | Destination | International tourist arrivals (2015)[1] |
International tourist arrivals (2014)[4] | Change (2014 to 2015) (%) | Change (2013 to 2014) (%) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Saudi Arabia | 18.0 million | 18.3 million | 1.5 | 15.8 | |
| 2 |  United Arab Emirates | 14.8 million[9] | — | — | — | |
| 3 |  Egypt | 9.1 million | 9.6 million | 5.1 | 5.0 | |
| 4 |  Iran | 5.2 million | 5.0 million | 5.4 | 4.2 | |
| 5 |  Jordan | 3.8 million | 4.0 million | 5.7 | 1.1 | |
| 6 |  Qatar | 2.9 million | 2.8 million | 3.7 | 8.2 | |
| 7 |  Israel | 2.8 million | 2.9 million | 4.3 | 1.2 | |
| 8 |  Oman | — | 1.5 million | — | 9.1 | |
| 9 |  Lebanon | 1.5 million | 1.4 million | 12.1 | 6.3 | |
| 10 |  Bahrain | — | 0.8 million | — | 21.6 | |
| Note 2: Iran is classified as part of "South Asia" in the UNWTO scheme.[7] | ||||||
The Americas
In 2015, there were over 193 million international tourist arrivals to the Americas, an increase of 6.0% over 2014. In 2015, the top ten destinations were:[1]
| Rank | Destination | International tourist arrivals (2015)[1] |
International tourist arrivals (2014)[4] | Change (2014 to 2015) (%) | Change (2013 to 2014) (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States | 77.5 million | 75.0 million | 3.3 | 7.2 |
| 2 | Mexico | 32.1 million | 29.1 million | 9.4 | 21.5 |
| 3 |  Canada | 18.0 million | 16.5 million | 8.7 | 3.0 |
| 4 |  Brazil | 6.3 million | 6.4 million | 1.9 | 10.6 |
| 5 |  Argentina | 5.7 million | 5.9 million | 3.3 | 13.1 |
| 6 |  Dominican Republic | 5.6 million | 5.1 million | 8.9 | 9.6 |
| 7 |  Chile | 4.5 million | 3.6 million | 21.9 | 2.7 |
| — |  Puerto Rico | 3.5 million | 3.2 million | 9.1 | 2.3 |
| 8 |  Cuba | 3.5 million | 3.0 million | 17.5 | 5.0 |
| 9 |  Peru | 3.5 million | 3.2 million | 7.5 | 1.6 |
| 10 |  Colombia | 3.0 million | 2.5 million | 16.1 | 12.1 |
Asia and the Pacific
In 2015, there were over 279 million international tourist arrivals to Asia and the Pacific, an increase of 6.0% over 2014. In 2015, the top ten destinations were:[1]
| Rank | Destination | International tourist arrivals (2015)[1] |
International tourist arrivals (2014)[4] | Change (2014 to 2015) (%) | Change (2013 to 2014) (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | China | 56.9 million | 55.6 million | 2.3 | 0.1 |
| 2 |  Thailand | 29.9 million | 24.8 million | 20.5 | 6.5 |
| 3 |  Hong Kong | 26.7 million | 27.8 million | 3.9 | 8.2 |
| 4 |  Malaysia | 25.7 million | 27.4 million | 6.3 | 6.7 |
| 5 |  Japan | 19.7 million | 13.4 million | 47.1 | 29.4 |
| 6 |  Macau | 14.3 million | 14.6 million | 1.8 | 2.1 |
| 7 |  South Korea | 13.2 million | 14.2 million | 6.8 | 16.6 |
| 8 |  Singapore | 12.1 million | 11.9 million | 1.6 | 0.3 |
| 9 |  Taiwan | 10.4 million | 9.9 million | 5.3 | 23.6 |
| 10 |  Indonesia | 10.4 million | 9.4 million | 10.3 | 7.2 |
Europe
In 2015, there were over 608 million international tourist arrivals to Europe, an increase of 5.0% over 2014. In 2015, the top ten destinations were:[1]
| Rank | Destination | International tourist arrivals (2015)[1] |
International tourist arrivals (2014)[4] | Change (2014 to 2015) (%) | Change (2013 to 2014) (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | France | 84.5 million | 83.7 million | 0.9 | 0.1 |
| 2 | Spain | 68.2 million | 64.9 million | 5.0 | 7.0 |
| 3 | Italy | 50.7 million | 48.6 million | 4.4 | 1.8 |
| 4 | Turkey | 39.5 million | 39.8 million | 0.8 | 5.3 |
| 5 | Germany | 35.0 million | 33.0 million | 6.0 | 4.6 |
| 6 | United Kingdom | 34.4 million | 32.6 million | 5.6 | 5.0 |
| 7 | Russia | 31.3 million | 29.8 million | 5.0 | 5.3 |
| 8 |  Austria | 26.7 million | 25.2 million | 5.6 | 1.9 |
| 9 |  Greece | 26.5 million | 22.0 million | 16.0 | 23.0 |
| 10 |  Poland | 16.7 million | 16.0 million | 4.6 | 1.3 |
International tourism receipts
International tourism receipts grew to US$1,260 billion in 2015, corresponding to an increase in real terms of 4.4% from 2014.[1] The World Tourism Organization reports the following destinations as the top twelve tourism earners for the year 2015, with the United States by far the top earner.
| Rank | Destination | UNWTO Region[3] |
International tourism receipts (2015)[1] |
International tourism receipts (2014)[4] | Change (2014 to 2015) (%) | Change (2013 to 2014) (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States | North America | $204.5 billion | $191.3 billion | 6.9% | 7.8% |
| 2 | China | Asia | $114.1 billion | $105.4 billion | 8.3% | — |
| 3 | Spain | Europe | $56.5 billion | $65.1 billion | 13.2% | 3.9% |
| 4 | France | Europe | $45.9 billion | $58.1 billion | 21.0% | 2.8% |
| 5 | United Kingdom | Europe | $45.5 billion | $46.5 billion | 2.3% | 11.8% |
| 6 | Thailand | Asia | $44.6 billion | $38.4 billion | 16.0% | 8.0% |
| 7 | Italy | Europe | $39.4 billion | $45.5 billion | 13.3% | 3.6% |
| 8 | Germany | Europe | $36.9 billion | $43.3 billion | 14.9% | 4.9% |
| 9 | Hong Kong(China) | Asia | $36.2 billion | $38.4 billion | 5.8% | 1.4% |
| 10 | Macau(China) | Asia | $31.3 billion | $42.6 billion | 26.4% | 1.1% |
| 11 |  Australia | Oceania | $29.4 billion | $31.9 billion | 9.3% | 0.4% |
| 12 | Turkey | Europe | $26.6 billion | $29.5 billion | 7.1% | 5.7% |
International tourism expenditure in 2015
The World Tourism Organization reports the following destinations as the top ten biggest spenders on international tourism for the year 2015.[1]
| Rank | Destination | UNWTO Region[3] |
International tourism expenditure (2015)[1] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | China | Asia | $292.2 billion |
| 2 | United States | North America | $112.9 billion |
| 3 | Germany | Europe | $77.5 billion |
| 4 | United Kingdom | Europe | $63.3 billion |
| 5 | France | Europe | $38.4 billion |
| 6 | Russia | Europe | $34.9 billion |
| 7 | Canada | North America | $29.4 billion |
| 8 | South Korea | Asia | $25.0 billion |
| 9 | Italy | Europe | $24.9 billion |
| 10 | Australia | Oceania | $23.5 billion |
Top International Tourist Destination Cities
Apart from the UN, the Euromonitor International has conducted a research in world tourism ranking by cities in 2014. The top ten world's most visited cities by international tourists are Hong Kong, London, Singapore, Bangkok, Paris, Macau, Dubai, Shenzhen, New York City, and Istanbul.[10]
See also
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 WTO Tourism Highlights 2016
- ↑ "Interim Update" (PDF). UNWTO World Tourism Barometer. UNWTO. April 2011. Retrieved 26 June 2011.
- 1 2 3 See Retrieved 14 November 2012.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "UNWTO Tourism Highlights 2015 Edition" (Press release). UNWTO. 25 June 2015. Retrieved 3 July 2015.
- 1 2 "2012 Tourism Highlights" (PDF). UNWTO. July 2013. Retrieved 11 July 2013.
- ↑ "2013 Tourism Highlights" (PDF). World Tourism Organization. July 2013. Retrieved 11 July 2013.
- 1 2 "WTO/ Member States of South Asia". World Tourism Organization. Retrieved 2015-01-16.
- ↑ "Recovery Confirmed, but Growth Remains Uneven" (PDF). UNWTO World Tourism Barometer. UNWTO. 8 (2). June 2010. Retrieved 20 June 2012.
- ↑ https://www.wttc.org/-/media/files/reports/economic%20impact%20research/countries%202015/unitedarabemirates2015.pdf See top of page 5
- ↑ Top 100 City Destinations Ranking
