The United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) compiles the World Tourism Rankings as part of their World Tourism Barometer publication, which is released three times throughout the year. UN regions and subregions are ranked taking into account 2 key tourism indicators; Tourism Arrivals and Tourism Receipts.
In 2016, there were 1.235 billion international tourist arrivals worldwide, with a growth of 4% as compared to 1.186 billion in 2015. Tourist arrivals grew by a remarkable 7% in 2017 to reach a total of 1,322 million. The result is expected to continue in 2018 at a rate of 4%-5%.
The top 10 international tourism destinations in 2016 were;
| Rank | Destination | International tourist arrivals (2016) |
International tourist arrivals (2015) |
Change (2015 to 2016) (%) |
Change (2014 to 2015) (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  France |
82.6 million | 84.5 million | – 2.2 |  0.9 |
| 2 |  United States |
75.6 million | 77.5 million |  2.4 |
3.3 |
| 3 |  Spain |
75.6 million | 68.5 million | 10.3 |
5.5 |
| 4 |  China |
59.3 million | 56.9 million | 4.2 |
2.3 |
| 5 |  Italy |
52.4 million | 50.7 million | 3.2 |
4.4 |
| 6 |  United Kingdom |
35.8 million | 34.4 million | 4.0 |
5.6 |
| 7 |  Germany |
35.6 million | 35.0 million | 1.7 |
6.0 |
| 8 |  Mexico |
35.0 million | 32.1 million | 8.9 |
9.4 |
| 9 |  Thailand |
32.6 million | 29.9 million | 8.9 |
20.6 |
| 10 |  Austria |
28.1 million | 26.7 million | 5.2 |
5.7 |
Africa
In 2015, there were over 53 million international tourist arrivals to Africa, a decrease of 3% from 2014.
In 2015, the top ten African destinations were:
| Rank | Destination | International tourist arrivals (2015) |
International tourist arrivals (2014) |
Change (2014 to 2015) (%) |
Change (2013 to 2014) (%) |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Morocco |
10.2 million | 10.3 million | 1.0 |
2.4 |
|
| 2 |  Egypt |
9.1 million | 9.6 million | 5.1 |
5.0 |
|
| 3 |  South Africa |
8.9 million | 9.5 million | 6.8 |
0.1 |
|
| 4 |  Tunisia |
5.4 million | 7.2 million | 25.2 |
2.6 |
|
| 5 |  Zimbabwe |
2.1 million | 1.9 million | 9.4 |
2.6 |
|
| 6 |  Algeria |
1.7 million | 2.3 million | 25.7 |
15.8 |
|
| 7 |  Mozambique |
1.6 million | 1.7 million | 6.6 |
11.9 |
|
| 8 |  Botswana |
1.5 million | 2.0 million | 22.3 |
27.3 |
|
| 9 |  Ivory Coast |
1.4 million | 0.5 million | 205.9 |
23.9 |
|
| 10 |  Namibia |
1.4 million | 1.3 million | 5.1 |
12.2 |
|
| Note: Egypt is classified under “Middle East” in the UNWTO. | ||||||
Americas
In 2015, there were over 199 million international tourist arrivals to the Americas.
In 2015, the top ten destinations were;
| Rank | Destination | International tourist arrivals (2015) |
International tourist arrivals (201 |
Change (2014 to 2015) (%) |
Change (2013 to 2014) (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States |
77.5 million | 75.0 million | 3.3 |
7.2 |
| 2 | Mexico |
32.1 million | 29.3 million | 9.4 |
21.5 |
| 3 |  Canada |
18.0 million | 16.5 million | 8.7 |
3.0 |
| 4 |  Brazil |
6.3 million | 6.4 million | 1.9 |
10.6 |
| 5 |  Argentina |
5.7 million | 5.9 million | 3.3 |
13.1 |
| 6 |  Dominican Republic |
5.6 million | 5.1 million | 8.9 |
9.6 |
| 7 |  Chile |
4.5 million | 3.7 million | 21.9 |
2.7 |
| 8 |  Puerto Rico |
3.5 million | 3.2 million | 9.1 |
2.3 |
| 9 |  Cuba |
3.5 million | 3.0 million | 17.5 |
5.0 |
| 10 |  Peru |
3.5 million | 3.2 million | 7.5 |
1.6 |
Asia-Pacific
In 2016, there were over 308 million international tourist arrivals to Asia-Pacific, an increase of 9.0% over 2015. In 2016, the top ten destinations were:
| Rank | Destination | International tourist arrivals (2016) |
International tourist arrivals (2015) |
Change (2015 to 2016) (%) |
Change (2014 to 2015) (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | China |
59.3 million | 56.9 million | 4.2 |
2.3 |
| 2 | Thailand |
32.6 million | 29.9 million | 8.9 |
20.6 |
| 3 |  Malaysia |
26.8 million | 25.7 million | 4.0 |
6.3 |
| 4 |  Hong Kong |
26.6 million | 26.7 million | 0.5 |
3.9 |
| 5 |  Japan |
24.0 million | 19.7 million | 21.8 |
47.1 |
| 6 |  South Korea |
17.2 million | 13.2 million | 30.3 |
6.8 |
| 7 |  Macau |
15.7 million | 14.3 million | 9.8 |
1.8 |
| 8 |  India |
14.6 million | 13.3 million | 9.7 |
1.4 |
| 9 |  Singapore |
12.9 mill | 12.1 mill | 7.1 |
1.6 |
| 10 |  Indonesia |
12.0 million | 10.0 million | – | 5.6 |
Europe
In 2016, there were over 616 million international tourist arrivals to Europe, an increase of 1.0% over 2015. In 2016, the top ten destinations were:
| Rank | Destination | International tourist arrivals (2016) |
International tourist arrivals (2015) |
Change (2015 to 2016) (%) |
Change (2014 to 2015) (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | France |
82.6 million | 84.5 million | 2.2 |
0.9 |
| 2 | Spain |
75.6 million | 68.5 million | 10.3 |
5.5 |
| 3 | Italy |
52.4 million | 50.7 million | 3.2 |
4.4 |
| 4 | United Kingdom |
35.8 million | 34.4 million | 4.0 |
5.6 |
| 5 | Germany |
35.6 million | 35.0 million | 1.7 |
6.0 |
| 6 | Austria |
28.1 million | 26.7 million | 5.2 |
5.7 |
| 7 |  Turkey |
25.4 million | 39.5 million | – | 0.8 |
| 8 |  Greece |
24.8 million | 23.6 million | 5.1 |
7.1 |
| 9 |  Russia |
24.6 million | 26.9 million | 8.6 |
5.6 |
| 10 |  Poland |
17.5 million | 16.7 million | 4.4 |
4.6 |
Middle East
In 2015, there were over 53 million international tourist arrivals to the Middle East, an increase of 2.0% over 2014. In 2015, the top ten destinations were:
| Rank | Destination | International tourist arrivals (2015) |
International tourist arrivals (2014) |
Change (2014 to 2015) (%) |
Change (2013 to 2014) (%) |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Turkey |
39.5 million | 39.8 million | 0.8 |
5.3 |
|
| 2 |  Saudi Arabia |
18.0 million | 18.3 million | 1.5 |
15.8 |
|
| 3 |  United Arab Emirates |
14.2 million | 13.2 million | 7.6 |
32.1 |
|
| 4 | Egypt |
9.1 million | 9.6 million | 5.1 |
5.0 |
|
| 5 |  Iran |
5.2 million | 5.0 million | 5.4 |
4.2 |
|
| 6 |  Jordan |
3.8 million | 4.0 million | 5.7 |
1.1 |
|
| 7 |  Qatar |
2.9 million | 2.8 million | 3.7 |
8.2 |
|
| 8 |  Israel |
2.8 million | 2.9 million | 4.4 |
1.2 |
|
| 9 |  Oman |
1.9 million | 1.6 million | 17.8 |
15.7 |
|
| 10 |  Lebanon |
1.5 million | 1.4 million | 12.1 |
6.3 |
|
| Note: Iran is classified as part of “South Asia” in the UNWTO. Turkey and Israel are classified as part of “Southern/Medit.Europe” in the UNWTO. | ||||||
International tourism receipts
International tourism receipts grew to US$1,260 billion in 2015, corresponding to an increase in real terms of 4.4% from 2014. The World Tourism Organization reports the following destinations as the top twelve tourism earners for the year 2015, with the United States by far the top earner.
| Rank | Region | International tourism receipts (2016) |
International tourism receipts (2015) |
Change (2015 to 2016) (%) |
Change (2014 to 2015) (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States |
$205.9 billion | $205.4 billion | 0.3% |
7.0% |
| 2 | Spain |
$60.3 billion | $56.5 billion | 6.9% |
13.3% |
| 3 | Thailand |
$49.9 billion | $44.9 billion | 11.0% |
16.9% |
| 4 | China |
$44.4 billion | $45.0 billion | 1.2% |
2.1% |
| 5 | France |
$42.5 billion | $44.9 billion | 5.3% |
22.9% |
| 6 | Italy |
$40.2 billion | $39.4 billion | 2.0% |
13.3% |
| 7 | United Kingdom |
$39.6 billion | $45.5 billion | 12.9% |
2.3% |
| 8 | Germany |
$37.4 billion | $36.9 billion | 1.4% |
14.8% |
| 9 | Hong Kong |
$32.9 billion | $36.2 billion | 9.1% |
5.8% |
| 10 |  Australia |
$32.4 billion | $28.9 billion | 12.3% |
8.2% |
Africa
| Rank | Region | International tourism receipts (US$ million) (2016) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | South Africa |
$7,910 |
| 2 | Morocco |
$6,548 |
| 3 | Egypt |
$5,258 |
| 4 |  Tanzania |
$2,135 |
| 5 |  Mauritius |
$1,572 |
| 6 | Tunisia |
$1,239 |
| 7 | Botswana |
$1,101 |
| 8 |  Nigeria |
$1,070 |
| 9 |  Sudan |
$1,009 |
| 10 | Zimbabwe |
$824 |
America
| Rank | Region | International tourism receipts (US$ million) (2016) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States |
$205,940 |
| 2 | Mexico |
$19,571 |
| 3 | Canada |
$18,213 |
| 4 | Dominican Republic |
$6,723 |
| 5 | Brazil |
$6,024 |
| 6 |  Colombia |
$4,773 |
| 7 | Argentina |
$4,687 |
| 8 |  Panama |
$4,258 |
| 9 | Puerto Rico |
$3,985 |
| 10 |  Costa Rica |
$3,879 |
Asia-Pacific
| Rank | Region | International tourism receipts (US$ million) (2016) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Thailand |
$49,871 |
| 2 | China |
$44,432 |
| 3 | Hong Kong |
$32,860 |
| 4 | Australia |
$32,423 |
| 5 | Japan |
$30,678 |
| 6 | Macau |
$29,881 |
| 7 | India |
$22,427 |
| 8 | Singapore |
$18,386 |
| 9 | Malaysia |
$18,074 |
| 10 | South Korea |
$17,210 |
Europe
| Rank | Region | International tourism receipts (US$ million) (2016) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Spain |
$60,346 |
| 2 | France |
$42,481 |
| 3 | Italy |
$40,246 |
| 4 | United Kingdom |
$39,615 |
| 5 | Germany |
$37,433 |
| 6 | Austria |
$19,300 |
| 7 | Turkey |
$18,743 |
| 8 |  Switzerland |
$15,937 |
| 9 | Greece |
$14,618 |
| 10 |  Netherlands |
$14,054 |
Middle East
| Rank | Region | International tourism receipts (US$ million) (2015) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Turkey |
$18,743 |
| 2 | United Arab Emirates |
$17,481 |
| 3 | Saudi Arabia |
$10,130 |
| 4 | Lebanon |
$6,857 |
| 5 | Egypt |
$6,065 |
| 6 | Israel |
$5,794 |
| 7 | Qatar |
$5,035 |
| 8 | Jordan |
$4,065 |
| 9 |  Iraq |
$4,060 |
| 10 | Oman |
$1,540 |
International tourism expenditures
The World Tourism Organization reports the following destinations as the top ten biggest spenders on international tourism for the year 2015 and 2016.
| Rank | Region | International tourism expenditure (2016) |
International tourism expenditure (2015) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | China |
$261.1 billion | $249.8 billion |
| 2 | United States |
$123.6 billion | $114.7 billion |
| 3 | Germany |
$79.8 billion | $77.5 billion |
| 4 | United Kingdom |
$63.6 billion | $63.3 billion |
| 5 | France |
$40.5 billion | $39.3 billion |
| 6 | Canada |
$29.1 billion | $30.1 billion |
| 7 | South Korea |
$26.6 billion | $25.3 billion |
| 8 | Italy |
$25.0 billion | $24.4 billion |
| 9 | Australia |
$24.9 billion | $23.8 billion |
| 10 | Hong Kong |
$24.2 billion | $23.1 billion |
