The World Tourism rankings are compiled by the United Nations World Tourism Organization as part of their World Tourism Barometer publication, which is released up to six times per year. In the publication, destinations are ranked by the number of international visitor arrivals, by the revenue generated by inbound tourism, and by the expenditure of outbound travelers.
In 2023 there were 1.3 billion international tourists, with a growth of 33,4% compared to 2022 and growth of 112.2% compared to 2021.[1] The top 10 international tourism destinations in 2023 were:[2] [3]
| Change (2022 to 2023) (%) | Change (2021 to 2022) (%) | |||||
| 1 | 100 million | 79.4 million | 25.9 | 64 | ||
| 2 | 85.2 million | 71.7 million | 18.8 | 130 | ||
| 3 | 66.5 million | 50.9 million | 30.6 | 130 | ||
| 4 | 57.2 million | 49.8 million | 14.8 | 85 | ||
| 5 | 55.2 million | 50.5 million | 9.3 | 69 | ||
| 6 | 42.2 million | 38.3 million | 10.1 | 20 | ||
| 7 | 37.2 million | 30.7 million | 21.1 | 389 | ||
| 8 | 34.8 million | 28.5 million | 22.1 | 144 | ||
| 9 | 32.7 million | 27.8 million | 17.6 | 89 | ||
| 10 | 30.9 million | 26.2 million | 17.9 | 106 |
In 2019, there were 69.9 million international tourist arrivals to Africa (excluding Egypt and Libya), an increase of 2.4% from 2018.[4] In 2019, the top ten African destinations were:
| Rank | Destination | International tourist arrivals (2019) | International tourist arrivals (2018) | Change (2018 to 2019) (%) | Change (2017 to 2018) (%) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 13.0 million | 11.3 million | 14.8 | 36.8 | |||
| 2 | 12.9 million | 12.3 million | 5.2 | 8.3 | |||
| 3 | 10.2 million | 10.5 million | 2.3 | 1.8 | |||
| 4 | 9.4 million | 8.3 million | 13.6 | 17.7 | |||
| 5 | 2.4 million | 2.7 million | 10.8 | 8.4 | |||
| 6 | 2.3 million | 2.6 million | 10.8 | 5.9 | |||
| 7 | 2.0 million | 2.7 million | 26.4 | 89.6 | |||
| 8 | – | 2.0 million | align="left" | - | 9.2 | ||
| 9 | – | 1.9 million | align="left" | - | 15.4 | ||
| 10 | – | 1.7 million | align="left" | - | 2.0 | ||
| Note: Egypt and Libya are classified under "Middle East" in the UNWTO.[5] | |||||||
In 2022, there were 156.2 million international tourist arrivals to the Americas, an increase of 90.9%.[4] In 2022, the top ten destinations were:
| Rank | Destination | International tourist arrivals (2022) | International tourist arrivals (2021) | Change (2021 to 2022) (%) | Change (2020 to 2021) (%) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 50.8 million | 22.2 million | 128.8 | 15.6 | ||
| 2 | 38.3 million | 31.8 million | 20.4 | 31.4 | ||
| 3 | 12.8 million | 3.0 million | 326.6 | 3.4 | ||
| 4 | 6.9 million | 4.9 million | 40.8 | 104.1 | ||
| 5 | 4.5 million | 2.1 million | 114.2 | 74.9 | ||
| 6 | 3.8 million | 0.3 million | 1196.6 | 85.6 | ||
| 7 | 3.6 million | 0.7 million | 386.5 | 65.2 | ||
| 8 | 2.4 million | 1.4 million | 71.4 | 66.3 | ||
| 9 | 2.4 million | 0.2 million | 962.4 | 74.9 | ||
| 10 | 2.0 million | 0.4 million | 452.2 | 20.1 |
In 2019, there were 360.7 million international tourist arrivals to Asia-Pacific, an increase of 4.1% over 2018. In 2019, the top ten destinations were:
| Rank | Destination | International tourist arrivals (2023)[6] | International tourist arrivals (2019) | International tourist arrivals (2018) | Change (2018 to 2019) (%) | Change (2017 to 2018) (%) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 65.7 million | 62.9 million | 4.5 | 3.6 | |||
| 2 | 28.15 million | 39.8 million | 38.2 million | 4.3 | 7.3 | ||
| 3 | 25.07 million | 32.2 million | 31.2 million | 3.2 | 8.7 | ||
| 4 | 26.1 million | 25.8 million | 1.0 | 0.4 | |||
| 5 | 23.8 million | 29.3 million | 18.8 | 4.9 | |||
| 6 | 18.6 million | 18.5 million | 0.8 | 7.2 | |||
| 7 | 18.0 million | 15.5 million | 16.2 | 19.9 | |||
| 8 | 17.9 million | 17.4 million | 2.8 | 12.1 | |||
| 9 | 17.5 million | 15.3 million | 14.0 | 15.1 | |||
| 10 | 15.5 million | 13.4 million | 15.4 | 3.5 |
In 2022, there were 594.5 million international tourist arrivals to Europe, an increase of 95% over 2021.Top 10 destinations of the last four years were:
| Rank | Destination | International tourist arrivals (2022) | International tourist arrivals (2021) | International tourist arrivals (2020) | International tourist arrivals (2019) | Change (2021 to 2022) (%) | Change (2020 to 2021) (%) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ― | 48.4 million | 41.7 million | 90.9 million | — | 16.1 | ||
| 2 | 71.7 million | 31.2 million | 18.9 million | 83.5 million | 130 | 64.7 | ||
| 3 | 50.5 million | 29.9 million | 15.9 million | 51.2 million | 69 | 88.3 | ||
| 4 | 49.8 million | 26.9 million | 25.2 million | 64.5 million | 85 | 6.7 | ||
| 5 | ― | 6.3 million | 10.7 million | 39.4 million | ― | 41.3 | ||
| 6 | 28.5 million | 11.7 million | 12.4 million | 39.6 million | 144 | 6.1 | ||
| 7 | 27.8 million | 14.7 million | 7.4 million | 31.3 million | 89 | 99.4 | ||
| 8 | 26.2 million | 12.7 million | 15.1 million | 31.9 million | 106 | 15.7 | ||
| 9 | ― | 9.6 million | 6.5 million | 24.5 million | ― | 48.4 | ||
| 10 | 15.9 million | 6.2 million | 7.3 million | 20.1 million | 155 | 14.0 |
In 2019, there were 61.4 million international tourist arrivals to West Asia (excluding Iran and Israel), an increase of 2.1% over 2018. In 2019, the top ten destinations were:
| Rank | Destination | International tourist arrivals (2023) | International tourist arrivals (2019) | International tourist arrivals (2018) | Change (2018 to 2019) (%) | Change (2017 to 2018) (%) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 27 million | 17.5 million | 15.5 million | 13.0 | 3.7 | ||
| 2 | 16.7 million | 15.9 million | 5.1 | 0.8 | |||
| 3 | 13.0 million | 11.3 million | 14.8 | 36.8 | |||
| 4 | 9.1 million | 7.3 million | 24.4 | 49.9 | |||
| 5 | 4.6 million | 4.1 million | 10.5 | 14.1 | |||
| 6 | 4.5 million | 4.2 million | 8.1 | 8.0 | |||
| 7 | 3.8 million | 4.4 million | 11.8 | 0.2 | |||
| 8 | 2.5 million | 2.3 million | 8.6 | 0.6 | |||
| 9 | 2.1 million | 1.8 million | 17.4 | 19.4 | |||
| 10 | 1.9 million | 2.0 million | 1.4 | 5.8 | |||
| Note: Iran is classified as part of "South Asia" in the UNWTO.Israel is classified as part of "Southern/Medit.Europe" in the UNWTO. | |||||||
International tourism receipts are the earnings a country makes from foreign visitors' spending on goods and services during their stay, such as expenditures accommodation, food and drink, and shopping. International tourism receipts reached USD 1 trillion in 2022, growing 50% in real terms compared to 2021, driven by the important rebound in international travel. The World Tourism Organization reports the following destinations as the top ten tourism earners for the year 2022, with the United States by far the top earner.
| Rank | Region | International tourism receipts (US$ billion) (2023) | International tourism receipts(US$ billion) (2022) | Change (local currency) (2022 to 2023) (%) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 175.9 | 135.2 | 30.1% | ||
| 2 | 92.0 | 72.9 | 26.2% | ||
| 3 | 73.9 | 68.2 | 8.3% | ||
| 4 | 68.6 | 59.7 | 14.9% | ||
| 5 | 55.9 | 44.3 | 26.1% | ||
| 6 | 51.9 | ― | ― | ||
| 7 | 49.5 | 41.2 | 21.3% | ||
| 8 | 46.6 | ― | ― | ||
| 9 | 39.2 | 24.0 | 63.3% | ||
| 10 | 38.6 | ― | ― |
| Rank | Region | International tourism receipts (US$ million) (2019) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 13,030 | ||
| 2 | 8,384 | ||
| 3 | 8,179 | ||
| 4 | 2,605 | ||
| 5 | 2,116 | ||
| 6 | 1,779 | ||
| 7 | 1,463 | ||
| 8 | 1,449 | ||
| 9 | 1,425 | ||
| 10 | 1,072* | ||
| Note: Number for Kenya is for 2018. | |||
| Rank | Region | International tourism receipts (US$ million) (2019) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 214,134 | ||
| 2 | 28,012 | ||
| 3 | 24,573 | ||
| 4 | 7,468 | ||
| 5 | 5,995 | ||
| 6 | 5,652 | ||
| 7 | 5,241 | ||
| 8 | 4,521 | ||
| 9 | 4,126 | ||
| 10 | 4,010 |
| Rank | Region | International tourism receipts (US$ million) (2019) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 60,521 | ||
| 2 | 46,054 | ||
| 3 | 45,709 | ||
| 4 | 40,060 | ||
| 5 | 35,832 | ||
| 6 | 30,720 | ||
| 7 | 29,043 | ||
| 8 | 21,628 | ||
| 9 | 20,052 | ||
| 10 | 19,823 |
| Rank | Region | International tourism receipts (US$ billion) (2022) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 72,9 | ||
| 2 | 68,2 | ||
| 3 | 59,7 | ||
| 4 | 44,3 | ||
| 5 | 41,2 | ||
| 6 | 31,5 | ||
| 7 | 22,2 | ||
| 8 | 19,2 | ||
| 9 | 18,6 | ||
| 10 | 16,2 |
| Rank | Region | International tourism receipts (US$ million) (2019) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 21,800 | ||
| 2 | 16,382 | ||
| 3 | 13,030 | ||
| 4 | 8,593 | ||
| 5 | 7,600 | ||
| 6 | 5,786 | ||
| 7 | 5,442 | ||
| 8 | 4,402* | ||
| 9 | 3,681 | ||
| 10 | 3,593 | ||
| Note: Number for Iran is for 2017. | |||
The World Tourism Organization reports the following source markets as the top ten spenders on international tourism for the year 2022 and 2023, with China and the United States by far being the top spender:
| Rank | Country | International tourism expenditure (2023) | International tourism expenditure (2022) | Change (local currency) (2021 to 2022) (%) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $196.5 billion | $114.8 billion | 71.1% | ||
| 2 | $150.0 billion | $114.9 billion | 30.5% | ||
| 3 | $111.9 billion | $89.4 billion | 25.1% | ||
| 4 | $110.3 billion | ― | ― | ||
| 5 | $49.0 billion | $47.7 billion | 2.7% | ||
| 6 | $38.3 billion | $24.4 billion | 56.9% | ||
| 7 | $34.2 billion | $26.5 billion | 29% | ||
| 8 | $33.3 billion | $25.9 billion | 28.5% | ||
| 9 | $33.0 billion | ― | ― | ||
| 10 | $27.8 billion | ― | ― |