International tourism up 4% in early 2015: UNWTO

With international tourism demand enjoying strong growth between January and April this year, arrivals for the May-August period are expected to remain bullish, according to the latest UNWTO World Tourism Barometer.

Destinations worldwide received some 332 million international tourists during this period, a growth of four per cent from last year.

The Americas recorded the highest growth with a six per cent rise in arrivals. Europe, the world’s most visited region, enjoyed continued strength with international arrivals rising by five per cent.

Asia-Pacific’s arrivals grew by four per cent, with Oceania and North-east Asia leading with eight and five per cent respectively. South-east Asia’s arrivals grew by a modest three per cent, as the 25 per cent rebound in Thailand was offset by declines in other destinations.

International arrivals in the Middle East are up by four per cent, further continuing the region’s recovery, which started in 2014, after three consecutive years of declines. Africa’s tourist numbers declined by about six per cent, a result caused mainly by the Ebola outbreak.

Close to 500 million tourists are estimated to travel abroad between this May and August and prospects continue to be optimistic for this period, according to the UNWTO Tourism Confidence Index.

Business intelligence tools ForwardKeys shows healthy growth in international air travel reservations for this period, with overall bookings up five per cent. Air reservations increased most in Asia-Pacific, the Americas and Europe.

UNWTO expects international tourist arrivals to grow by three to four per cent for the full year 2015.

-TTG Asia.