Tourism Statistics 2026

According to the first World Tourism Barometer of the year, an estimated 1.52 billion international tourists were recorded globally in 2025, almost 60 million more than in 2024.

Key takeaways from this edition show: Europe , the world’s largest destination region, recorded 793 million international tourists in 2025, a 4% increase from 2024 and 6% more than in 2019.

Arrivals in Asia and the Pacific (331 million) grew 6% last year but are still 9% below 2019 levels as the region continued to rebound.

Africa (81 million) saw an 8% increase in arrivals in 2025, with particularly strong results in North Africa (+11%).

The Middle East recorded 3% growth in 2025, equivalent to 39% above pre-pandemic levels, the strongest results relative to 2019.

Among destination with available data for the twelve months of 2025 several show double-digit growth in international arrivals, among which Brazil (+37%), Egypt (+20%), Morocco (+14%) and Seychelles (+13%).

According to the latest World Tourism Barometer from UN Tourism, an estimated 690 million tourists travelled internationally between January and June 2026, some 3 million more than the same period last year.

The Middle East saw a 22% drop over this period, as it was directly impacted by the conflict.

Looking ahead In view of the latest data and current geopolitical volatility, international tourist arrivals are now expected to grow by between 1% and 2% globally in 2026, compared to UN Tourism’s January forecast of 3% to 4%.

It drives global business, contributing to 3.9% of global GDP , and facilitates tourism, with 58% of international tourists travelling by air.

According to WTTC’s latest Economic Impact Research (EIR) , Travel & Tourism’s global GDP contribution reached a record US$11.6 trillion in 2025 , accounting for 9.8% of the global economy.

In a landmark milestone, Travel & Tourism supported 366 million jobs (10.9%) worldwide in 2025 — a figure greater than the total population of the United States — reinforcing its critical role in global employment and livelihoods.

International visitor spending across Europe is set to rise 5.8% in 2026, while the sector worldwide is forecast to contribute a record US$11.9 trillion to the economy, accounting for 9.9% of global GDP and supporting 375 million jobs worldwide, equivalent to one in every nine jobs.

Monthly data show strong visitor spending throughout 2025, with preliminary estimates pointing at USD 1.9 trillion in international tourism receipts globally, a 5% increase from 2024.

Total export revenues from tourism (including receipts and passenger transport) are estimated at USD 2.2 trillion in 2025 based on available data.

The latest figures show that global leisure travel spending reached $6.15TN in 2025, up 3.5% year-on-year and accounting for 80.5% of total global travel expenditure.

Global business travel spending overall is forecast to reach €1.52 trillion ($1.71 trillion) this year.

Globally, business travel spending is forecast to grow by 7.2% in 2026, compared with 1.3% growth in trip volume.

System-wide comparable RevPAR increased 5.8 percent, on a currency neutral basis, for the third quarter compared to the same period in 2025

Full year 2026 system-wide RevPAR is projected to increase between 4.0 percent and 4.5 percent on a comparable and currency neutral basis compared to 2025

U.S. visitor numbers declined 5.5% against 2024 and international visitor spending fell 4.6% to US$176 billion.

While the U.S. continues to lead in scale, contributing US$2.63 trillion to global GDP , WTTC highlights that the country is now at a crossroads in its tourism development.

In 2025, the Travel & Tourism sector in the U.S. supported 20.4 million jobs , up 1.2% year-on-year, and added approximately 242,000 new jobs , a positive signal for both the sector and the wider economy.

Domestic visitor spending remained strong at US$1.54 trillion , up 0.3% year-on-year and 14.3% above pre-pandemic levels.

Travel Exports Reach Record High in First Six Months of 2025 WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the International Trade Administration (ITA) announced that international visitors spent a record $126.9 billion on U.S. travel and tourism-related goods and services during the first six months of the year (January through June 2025), according to the latest data available via ITA’s National Travel and Tourism Office (NTTO).

In the first six months of 2025, international visitor travel to the United States accounted for 7.6 percent of total U.S. trade in goods and services.

EU tourism grew by 1.7% in the first year half of 2026, peaking at 1.3 billion nights spent in tourist accommodation.

In Q2 2026, international nights spent (425.4 million nights) outnumbered the number of domestic nights spent (424.4 million nights).

EU residents (aged 15 and above) made 1.2 billion tourism trips in 2024, either for personal or business purposes.

In 2024, Spain was the most visited tourism destination in the EU for international tourists (people travelling outside their country), with 322 million nights spent in tourist accommodation establishments, or 22.2% of the EU total (see Figure 5 and Figure 6).

International tourist arrivals to Europe increased by 5.0% year-to-date compared to the same period in 2025, while overnight stays rose by 4.8%.

The largest increases in arrivals during the first months of 2026 were recorded by Greece (+38%), Italy (+21%) and Malta (+16%), supported by strong connectivity and efforts to spread demand beyond peak seasons and traditional hotspots.

Main points Overseas residents made an estimated 40.8 million visits to the UK in 2025 and spent an estimated £29.8 billion; of the total visits to the UK in 2025, 36.9 million were to Great Britain (GB), and an estimated £29.2 billion was spent by visitors to GB.

UK residents made an estimated 99.9 million visits abroad in 2025 and spent an estimated £86.2 billion; of the total visits abroad in 2025, 95.5 million were by residents of GB, and £83.9 billion was spent by residents of GB.

The greatest number of estimated visits to GB in 2025 were made by residents of the United States (5.5 million visits), followed by residents of France (3.1 million visits), and Germany (2.8 million visits).

For short-term visitor arrivals to Australia in August 2026: A total of 755,530 trips were recorded, an increase of 2,210 (0.3%) compared with the corresponding month of the previous year.

In the year 2025 as a whole, the number of tourists peaked, reaching an all-time high in its historical series of 96.8 million.

In the whole of 2025, the total expenditure of international tourists reached 134,712 million euros, 6.8% more than in the previous year.

International arrivals to Canada (non-resident visitors and returning Canadian residents) totalled 72.9 million in 2025, down 10.9% from 2024

In 2025, US-resident arrivals to Canada (22.8 million) decreased by 2.9% year over year.

Meanwhile, overseas-resident arrivals in Canada reached 6.8 million in 2025, up 7.5% from 2024.

Overseas visitor arrivals were 3.51 million in the December 2025 year, an increase of 196,000 from the December 2024 year.

According to the European Travel Commission’s (ETC) latest Monitoring Sentiment for Intra-European Travel (Wave 25) , 81% of Europeans intend to take a trip between June and November 2026, four percentage points higher than during the same period last year.

Financial considerations also continue to play a central role, with rising trip costs (22%) and personal finances (17%) remaining Europeans’ biggest travel concerns.

While interest in major tourist destinations has increased slightly to 48%, most Europeans (52%) prefer lesser-known or off-the-beaten-path destinations.

The average number of planned holiday trips has dropped to 1.83, down from 2.14 last year, and average planned trip budgets are down 18% to $2,334.

Share infographic Share linkedin twitter facebook Or copy link Copy With 57% of travelers citing cost savings as a motivation for driving instead of flying, this frugality appears to be reshaping demand trends across every travel category.

Despite these financial trade-offs and the fact that 36% of travelers have avoided checking their bank account or credit card balance after returning home, retrospective satisfaction remains high: While 46% of U.S. travelers spent more than they originally planned on their most recent trip, 94% say certain experiences make a trip worth every penny.

This prioritization translates into concrete financial decisions: More than two in three (68%) prefer to cut back on other day-to-day expenses in order to travel, and 69% feel less guilty spending money on travel than on other purchases.

58% of experts foresee better or much better performance in 2026 than in 2025, while 31% expect similar results and 11% worse.

According to the global tourism body, Travel & Tourism’s global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in 2024 have fallen by 9.3% since 2019, when Travel & Tourism was at its peak, and now account for a 7.3% share of total global GHG emissions, down from an 8.3% share in in 2019.

This decline reflects a reduction in emissions intensity (emissions per unit of economic output) which has fallen by 15% since 2019, with Travel & Tourism steadily generating more economic value while producing fewer emissions.

More than three-quarters (76%) of Europeans say climate-related factors influence their travel behaviour.

However, awareness does not always translate into action, with only 41% of consumers intending to change their travel behaviour due to environmental concerns.