Middle Eastern Tourism in Bloom: Full Recovery by Year-end, Spending Soars Ahead of Arrivals

 In the first nine months of 2024, 1 billion tourists travelled to international destinations, reaching out 98% of pre-pandemic levels. According to the latest UN Tourism World Tourism Barometer, it is expected to fully recover by the end of the year, despite current economic, geopolitical, and climatic challenges.

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.”

Regional Tourism Performance

The Middle East (up 29% compared to 2019) continued its record growth during this nine-month period, while Europe (up 1%) and Africa (up 6%) also exceeded 2019 levels.

The northern hemisphere's summer season was generally strong, with global arrivals reaching 99% of pre-pandemic values in the third quarter of 2024. A total of 60 out of 111 destinations surpassed 2019 arrival figures in the first eight to nine months of 2024. Top performers included Qatar (141% compared to 2019), Albania (77%), Saudi Arabia (61%), Curaçao (48%), Tanzania (43%), Colombia, and Andorra (both 36%).

Direct Impact of Tourism: Extraordinary Growth

In the first nine months of 2024, 35 out of 43 countries with available data on tourism revenues exceeded pre-pandemic levels, with many recordings double-digit growth compared to 2019, far outpacing inflation in most cases. Notable examples include Serbia (99%), as well as Pakistan (64%), Romania (61%), Japan (59%), Portugal (51%), Nicaragua, and Tanzania (both 50%).

Among the top tourism revenue generators, Japan (59%), Turkey (41%), and France (27%) saw double-digit growth through September 2024. Spain (36%) and Italy (26%) also reported significant increases.

Data on international tourism spending reflects the same trend, especially among major source markets like Germany (35%), the United States (33%), and France (11%). Available data for India shows a significant increase in outbound spending from this increasingly important market, with an 81% growth through June 2024 (compared to 2019).