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| The Great Wall of China is one of the most visited attractions in the world |
The UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) announced today that global tourism rose an unexpected 6.7 percent from 2009-2010, even in the midst of the world economic crisis. This rise comes after a disappointing 4 percent decline from 2008-2009. The UNWTO has predicted in the past that world tourism will grow year-to-year at an average rate of 4 percent, making the growth from 2009-2010 even more surprising.
Some of this growth can be explained by major world events, such as the Winter Olympics in Canada and the World Cup in South Africa, but neither of these areas posted the highest growth rates, even with the high-profile events they hosted. Asia posted the highest growth rate by far, with a 13 percent rise overall and a record 204 million arrivals.
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| Jumaira Beach Hotel in Dubai, a leading Middle Eastern tourism center. |
The Middle East was a huge contributor to Asia’s success, as 14 percent more tourists traveled to the region in 2010, making the total number of travelers an impressive 60 million. The World Cup did help to boost Africa’s total growth, though, with travel to the continent shooting up 6 percent.
Europe kept its spot far on top of the international tourism industry with 471 million arrivals, but only grew about 3 percent. These numbers were most likely negatively affected by the travel delays and cancellations caused by the ash clouds from a volcanic eruption in Iceland in mid-April of 2010, but the UNWTO did not predict how much the rate was effected. The America’s grew by 8 percent to 151 million travelers, with South America growing much quicker than its neighbor to the north.
All four of the emerging BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) ranked at the top of outbound tourism growth as well, with Brazil up an unbelievable 52 percent, Russia growing 26 percent and outbound Chinese tourist totals rising 17 percent.
The UNWTO predicts an average travel growth in from 2010-2011, not quite at the same levels of 2009-2010. Why do you think global tourism rose so much in 2010? Have any input as to why certain areas are growing at faster rates than others? If so, feel free to throw your opinion out there in our comments section below.
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