World tourist numbers surge to nearly 1.1 billion

[DJKeefy]

The decrease in number of tourists in Egypt led to increase in other destinations.

International tourist numbers surged to nearly 1.1 billion in 2013 in defiance of global economic troubles, with Asia-Pacific destinations enjoying the fastest growth, a United Nations body said Monday.



The rise in tourism coincided with sluggish economic growth worldwide and unrest in top destinations such as Egypt, shunned by visitors fearful of the turmoil unleashed by the army’s ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in July.

Despite those troubles, the number of international tourist arrivals beat expectations by soaring 5% to 1.09 billion in 2013, the UN World Tourism Organisation said in a report, tipping further growth in 2014.

“The tourism sector has shown a remarkable capacity to adjust to the changing market conditions, fuelling growth and job creation around the world, despite the lingering economic and geopolitical challenges,” said the UN body’s secretary general, Taleb Rifai.

“Indeed, tourism has been among the few sectors generating positive news for many economies,” he said, hailing 2013 as an “excellent year”.

Expectations of stronger economic activity set the scene for a further expansion in tourism in 2014 with international arrivals expected to grow again by 4.0-4.5% in 2014, the body said, urging countries to support fair and sustainable growth in the sector.

International tourist arrivals rose at the fastest rate in the Asia-Pacific region, where numbers were up by 6% to 248 million, it said. Southeast Asia performed best, with arrivals up 10%.

Europe, however, remained the biggest destination overall, with international tourist arrivals up 5% to 563 million.

In the Americas, arrivals grew by 4% to 169 million.

The number of international tourists arriving in Africa grew by 6% to 56 million.

But results in the Middle East were “mixed and volatile”, with arrivals from other countries unchanged at 56 million, the report said. Among countries of origin, Chinese tourists – already leading the way with expenditure of $102bn in 2012 – pushed up total spending by 28% in the first nine months of 2013, the UN body said.

Tourists from Russia, the fifth largest country of origin of international tourists, drove up spending by 26% in the same period, it said.

Source: http://www.dailynewsegypt.com/2014/01/2 ... 1-billion/

[Horus]

Mmm, so what does that tell you about Egypts future if they don't get a grip on this political unrest. I have seen in the past many expats not only saying how safe everything is, but also that the lack of tourists is as a result of European ecconomies being squeezed, hopefully these figures will send the message home, your tourism will continue to decline so long as the unrest continues.

[LovelyLadyLux]

IMO tourism for Egypt isn't going to come ahead as long as there is unrest in the country. No airline is going to fly their planes into hot spots chancing insurance issues. They have to pay premiums too and am sure what they're paying to insure their planes is much higher than what I'm paying to insure my car.

If they're not going to bring tourists in then the ripple effect is onto the hotels and all other ancillary services.

Given the highway infrastructure in Egypt it isn't like a tourist can just 'drive' into the country either so how tourists arrive is not multi faceted.

And, to me, although I think sometimes about going back to Egypt, I've seen all the major sites. They were beautiful, informative and I can't say enough positive about them - BUT - been there seen that and am not sure I want to keep going back to 'where I was' when there are so many other welcoming destinations that don't have the same hassle, problems and issues you get in Egypt.