The world of tourism has recovered quite well from the episode of the pandemic which brought an entire sector to a standstill. While a return to normal for business travel had been announced for 2026 by the GBTA (Global Business Travel Spend) Travel Index, leisure travel quickly returned to normal habits faster than expected.
No less than 1.4 billion tourists traveled around the world last year, announced UN Tourism, thus confirming “the recovery of international tourism from the worst crisis in its history”.
Attendance records in countries around the world
Various tourist offices are delighted to have welcomed a record number of tourists in 2024. This is the case of the small state of the United Arab Emirates, Ras Al Khaimah, which announced having welcomed 1.28 million travelers last year . Or even Japan, where 36.8 million tourists came during this same period. We are therefore far from the 25 million in 2023, but also from the 32 million welcomed in 2019, according to the JNTO, the Japanese national tourism office.
Other countries are affected by record attendance, such as Brazil with 6.6 million visitors. Never seen before. Compared to 2023, the increase is around 12.3%. A success stimulated by the arrival of Argentines, Americans and Chileans.
-Europe, the world’s number one destination
According to UN Tourism, Europe is the leading destination in the world, due to welcoming 747 million tourists in 2024. By recording an increase in its attendance of 1% compared to 2019, the old continent definitively turns the page on the health crisis, relegating it to the ranks of memories of the past. The Middle East and Africa represent the other places in the world that received the most visits compared to 2019.
Logically listed as essential in 2024 due to the Olympic and Paralympic Games, France did not miss its appointment either, welcoming 100 million tourists, an increase of 2% compared to 2023. France has also part of the end-of-year projects, with the arrival of tourists in the ski resorts, favored by the snow cover.
Morocco
