The State of Journey: Key Tourism Statistics and Developments

Journey and tourism is likely one of the world’s largest industries, supporting hundreds of thousands of jobs and accounting for trillions in world financial affect annually. However simply how huge is the journey trade and who’s doing the touring? Right here we dive into the important thing tourism statistics and traits that reveal the present state of tourism.
International Tourism Trade Stats
- Whole financial affect from journey and tourism reached $8.8 trillion in 2021, up from $8.6 trillion in 2020 however nonetheless under the $9.2 trillion generated in 2019 earlier than the Covid-19 pandemic. (World Journey & Tourism Council)
- There have been 4 billion world vacationer arrivals in 2021, up from 381 million in 2020 however nonetheless properly under the 1.5 billion arrivals in 2019. Worldwide tourism is rebounding after a significant droop however has not totally recovered. (UNWTO)
- Journey and tourism generated 330 million jobs globally in 2021. That’s 1 in 10 jobs worldwide supported by the tourism trade. (WTTC)
- The journey sector represented 10.3% of worldwide GDP and 27.3% of worldwide companies exports in 2021. As a share of GDP, journey has rebounded near 2019 ranges. (WTTC)
Vacationers and Tourism Spending
- In 2021, People took a complete of 1.4 billion particular person journeys for enterprise and leisure functions. This was up from 1.1 billion journeys in 2020 however under the 1.9 billion journeys taken in 2019. (USTA)
- The common American traveler spent $2,023 on journeys in 2021, up barely from $1,992 spent in 2020. (USTA)
- Millennials spend extra on journey general than some other era, averaging round $5,600 per particular person yearly. Gen Xers spend round $5,400 per 12 months. (AARP, Resonance)
- Solo journey has been on the rise, with 25% of vacationers usually taking journeys alone. Youthful generations journey solo extra ceaselessly than older. (AAA)
- The Center East enjoys the best journey spending per capita globally. In 2021, residents of nations like Qatar, Kuwait and Israel averaged over $2,000 per particular person. (WTTC)
Well-liked Locations and Actions
- Essentially the most visited nation on the planet pre-pandemic was France, which welcomed 90 million international arrivals in 2019. Spain, the U.S., China and Italy spherical out the highest 5. (UNWTO)
- Within the U.S., essentially the most visited states are California, Florida, Nevada, Colorado and Washington. Main cities like Orlando, Las Vegas and Los Angeles see enormous numbers. (USTA)
- Seashores stay the preferred journey vacation spot worldwide, adopted by metropolis holidays, home rural journeys, nationwide parks visits and food-focused journey. (AIEST)
- Buying, visiting mates/kinfolk, eating out, seashores and rural sightseeing are constantly the highest journey actions for U.S. vacationers annually. (USTA)
Enterprise Journey and Occasions
- International spending on enterprise journey is forecast to achieve $1.4 trillion by 2022, up 4.5% from 2021 however nonetheless properly under the $1.7 trillion spent in 2019. It’s rebounding slower than leisure. (GBTA)
- There have been 400 million enterprise journey arrivals globally in 2021, outpacing 285 million arrivals in 2020 however under 550 million pre-pandemic. (WTTC)
- The U.S. hosted essentially the most enterprise conferences worldwide in 2019 with 967,000 occasions in comparison with 578,000 in Germany, 539,000 in UK and 107,000 in France. (Statista)
Journey Trade Outlook
- Worldwide vacationer arrivals are projected to achieve 1.8 billion globally by 2030, up from 4 billion in 2019 however under forecasts made earlier than the pandemic. (UNWTO)
- By 2024, enterprise journey spending might get well to just about 96% of 2019 volumes. Full restoration is predicted by 2026. (GBTA)
- The journey and tourism sector’s contribution to world GDP is forecast to rise 3.2% yearly over the following decade, displaying an general optimistic progress outlook. (WTTC)
Whereas the pandemic delivered an unprecedented shock, key statistics present journey is rebounding, it’s clear from each the buyer and enterprise journey statistics. As tourism totally recovers and continues rising worldwide, these traits and information snapshots present useful insights into who’s touring, the place and the way a lot they’re spending. The journey trade’s future stays brighter than ever.