INTERNATIONAL travel between January and April 2013 rose 4.3 per cent year-on-year, with the Asia-Pacific region boasting the strongest growth.
The number of international tourist arrivals hit 298 million in the first four months of the year, up 12 million from 2012’s 286 million tourists, according to a United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) report.
“International tourism continues to show an extraordinary dynamism,” said UNWTO secretary-general, Taleb Rifai.
“The 4.3 per cent growth in the number of international tourists crossing borders in the first months of 2013 confirms that tourism is one of the fastest-growing sectors of our times, contributing in a central manner to the economy of a growing number of countries,” he added.
While all regions registered positive growth, Asia-Pacific led the pack with a six per cent rise in visitor arrivals. Europe and the Middle East followed at five per cent, trailed by Africa (two per cent) and the Americas (one per cent).
Among the world’s sub-regions, South-east Asia took tops for its significant 12 per cent growth. Other star performers included South Asia, and Central and Eastern Europe, both with nine per cent.
The strong performance of South-east Asia and South Asia highlight the trend of emerging economy destinations outgrowing advanced economies as holiday spots in recent years. Worldwide, the number of tourists visiting emerging destinations grew 4.6 per cent, compared to advanced economies, which expanded 3.3 per cent.
Looking ahead to the peak tourism months of May to August, prospects remain positive and some 435 million tourists are expected to travel abroad. Business intelligence tool Forwardkeys has already noted a four per cent increase in international air travel reservations for that period.
For the full year of 2013, international tourist arrivals are expected to increase by between three and four per cent, in line with UNWTO’s long-term forecast of 3.8 per cent per year for the period 2010-2020.
