Global tourism proves resilient

International tourism grew modestly in the first half of 2026, with global arrivals up by 0.4% even as insecurity in the Middle East, elevated oil prices, and broader inflationary pressures tested the sector's resilience.

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

While global arrivals increased by 2% in Q1 2026, they then dropped by 1% in Q2, following a 3% decline in April. That drop was largely due to the calendar effect of the Easter holiday period starting in March and because of the impacts of the Middle East conflict.

Globally, arrivals then dropped 3% in June. That was driven by a 6% decline in Western Europe, partly due to a heatwave in some destinations.

South-East Asia recorded 5% fewer arrivals in June as a result of weaker demand from Asian markets, geopolitical tensions, air travel disruptions through the Middle East, and increased travel costs.

Some destinations in Oceania (-6% in June) were also impacted by Typhoon Sinlaku in Q2.

UN Tourism Secretary-General Shaikha Al Nuwais said: "The latest data shows a sector absorbing real pressure and finding a way forward. Tourism has not stopped growing, but that growth is fragile. The Middle East situation has touched destinations far beyond the region itself and serves as a clear reminder that, in such a connected world, resilience needs to be built everywhere and not just when a crisis begins."

The World Tourism Barometer breaks down performance by region and sub-region. The data shows:In the first half of 2026, Africa (+4%) and Europe (+3%) recorded solid growth in arrivals, while the Americas saw a 2% increase, with mixed results across sub-regions.

Arrivals in Asia and the Pacific grew by 1% over this six-month period but remained 11% below 2019 levels as disruptions to air connectivity, higher air fares, and uncertainty affected intra-regional demand.

The Middle East saw a 22% drop over this period, as it was directly impacted by Iraeli and Iranian aggression. 

Although the conflict has negatively affected international tourism in the Middle East and other regions since early March 2026, disruptions to air traffic gradually eased in May and June following the announcement of a ceasefire. 

That resulted in the reopening of some air routes and led to an uneven rebound in consumer sentiment.

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Global tourism growing despite many challenges

The aggressive Israelis are disrupting the Middle East, the Russians attacking western Europe and the US scaring away tourists with increased costs and unwelcoming immigration policies. 

But despite all these bad actors, global tourism is up by 5% over the past six months. 

New figures from UN Tourism show almost 690 million tourists travelled internationally between January and June 2025, which is around 33 million more than in the same period of 2024. 

Results were, not surprisingly, mixed among regions and sub-regions.

UN Tourism secretary-general Zurab Pololikashvili said: “In the face of global challenges, international tourism continues to see strong momentum and resilience. 

"The first half of 2025 brought growing arrival numbers and revenues for most destinations around the world, which contribute to local economies, jobs and livelihoods. Yet, this also reminds us of our great responsibility to ensure this growth is sustainable and inclusive and to work with all local stakeholders in that sense.”

Africa saw strongest performance while Asia Pacific continued to rebound.

The newest edition of the World Tourism Barometer assesses the sector’s performance by region and sub-region in the first six months of 2025. Key takeaways include: 

# Africa saw a 12% increase in January-June 2025 compared to the same period last year. Both North Africa (+14%) and sub-Saharan Africa (+11%) recorded double-digit growth this period.

# Europe welcomed nearly 340 million international tourists this first half of 2025, about 4% more than in 2024 and 7% more than in 2019. Northern, western and southern Mediterranean Europe all recorded 3% growth this period despite uneven monthly results. Central and Eastern Europe continued to rebound strongly (+9%), but remained 11% below 2019 levels, according to available data.

# The Americas recorded 3% growth in January-June 2025, with mixed results. While South America (+14%) continued to enjoy solid growth, Central America saw a 2% increase in arrivals and North America saw flat results (+0%) mostly due to declines in the United States and Canada. 

# The Middle East recorded 4% fewer arrivals this six-month period, though after a very strong post-pandemic rebound, with 29% more arrivals than the same period of 2019, the strongest regional results relative to 2019.

# Arrivals in Asia and the Pacific grew 11% this period, which is 92% of the pre-pandemic figure (-8% compared to 2019). North-East Asia (+20%) saw the strongest performance relative to 2024, though it remained 8% below 2019 levels.

Some of the highest growth rates among large destinations in H1 2025 were recorded by Japan and Vietnam (+21%), the Republic of Korea (+15%), Morocco (+19%), Mexico and the Netherlands (+7%). 

Malaysia and Indonesia both recorded 9% growth and Hong Kong 7%, though arrivals remained somewhat below 2019 levels in these destinations.

Image: Naveen Kumar Singh, Scop.io

World travel returns to normal post-Covid

Around 1.1 billion tourists travelled internationally in the first nine months of 2024, as the global tourism sector recovered to 98% of pre-pandemic levels.

The latest World Tourism Barometer released by UN Tourism this week, says a full recovery from the biggest crisis in the travel sector’s history is expected by the end of the year, despite economic, geopolitical and climate challenges.

Four years after the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, which brought global tourism to a standstill, the Barometer reflects the sector’s remarkable recovery, with most regions already exceeding 2019 arrival numbers in the period January to September 2024.

The report also shows outstanding results in terms of international tourism receipts, with most destinations with available data posting double-digit growth compared to 2019.

UN Tourism secretary-general Zurab Pololikashvili said: “The strong growth seen in tourism receipts is excellent news for economies around the world.

"The fact that visitor spending is growing even stronger than arrivals has a direct impact on millions of jobs and small businesses and contributes decisively to the balance of payments and tax revenues of many economies.”

The Middle East (+29% compared to 2019) continued to enjoy record growth this nine-month period, while Europe (+1%) and Africa (+6%) also exceeded 2019 levels. The Americas recovered to 97% of its pre-pandemic arrivals, while Asia and the Pacific reached 85% of 2019 levels.

The summer season in the northern hemisphere was generally strong, with arrivals worldwide reaching 99% of pre-pandemic values in Q3 2024.

Among the world’s top earners, Japan (+59%), Türkiye (+41%) and France (+27%) all recorded double-digit growth through September.

Image: Jerome Quek, Scop.io