Tourism – A Development Opportunity for Small Island States, finds UNWTO Report

June 20, 2012 By

International tourism is one of the principal economic activities of Small Island Developing States (SIDS). A new UNWTO report launched on the occasion of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (RIO+20), confirms tourism as an essential source of job opportunities, livelihood, foreign exchange, and inclusive growth for these countries.

“Tourism offers one of the most promising options for the economic growth and development of small island nations if planned and managed according to the principles of sustainability,” said UNWTO Secretary-General Taleb Rifai, “Tourism has been, for example, an important contributor in enabling the Maldives and Cape Verde to graduate from the status of Least Developed Country.”

The report, Challenges and Opportunities for Tourism in Small Island Developing States, finds that while SIDS often struggle to compete in the global economy, their natural and cultural resources give them a strong competitive advantage in the tourism marketplace.

- The number of international tourists visiting SIDS has increased by over 12 million in the last decade, to reach 41 million in 2011.

- The annual revenue generated by international tourism in SIDS exceeds US$38 billion.

- For some island nations, tourism accounts for over 40 percent of GDP.

- Tourism accounts for 75 percent or more of exports of services for 15 SIDS, and over 50 percent in 13 others.

The report calls upon the international community to continue supporting the SIDS because of their particular vulnerable situation and highlights the need to address key issues such as leakages, conservation, air connectivity, and climate change if tourism is to effectively contribute to the sustainable development of SIDS.

Source: ForImmediate Release

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Tourism Australia Goes After Indian Tourists

June 19, 2012 By

Australia is making a bid to capture some of the 50 million Indians who are expected to travel overseas by 2020 with a new plan to lure tourists.

Tourism minister Martin Ferguson revealed the new strategic plan at the Australia Tourism Exchange in Perth today.

It outlines plans to increase the number of flights between India and Australia, introduce new products and experiences which appeal to Indian tourists and adapt service.

India is Australia’s 10th most valuable inbound tourism market, with 148,000 visitors spending A$867 million last year.

The country is one of the world’s fastest growing outbound travel markets, with predictions it could rise in annual value to up to $2.3 billion by 2020 and deliver 300,000 annual visitors.

The move comes a week after Tourism Australia unveiled its new tourism campaign in China, which is Australia’s fastest-growing and most valuable market.

“India is a market of strong future potential for Australian tourism given this nation’s rapid rise through this Asian Century,” Tourism Australia managing director Andrew McEvoy said.

“Tourism Australia understands both the potential and location of the desired, future Indian visitor to Australia, yet we also acknowledge this is a unique and complex market, that is becoming increasingly competitive and which needs a clear, strategic approach to build a platform for any substantive future success by our industry.”

Mr McEvoy said the plan would include a doubling of marketing spend by Tourism Australia in India in the 2013 financial year.

With more than 70 national tourism organisations active in India, Mr McEvoy said the time was right for Tourism Australia to invest more to maintain its presence and enable the industry to better leverage a future competitive advantage.

The plan will include a clear geographic strategy to focus resources on where there the greatest concentration of affluent households is – initially Delhi and Mumbai.

“The major cities of Delhi and Mumbai, and the affluent middle class travellers within them, will be Tourism Australia’s primary consumer marketing and distribution targets to sustainably grow Indian visitation to Australia,” Mr McEvoy said.

“Long haul holiday travel taken by Indians out of their country remains at relative small levels, but is developing fast as global travel is now appearing on many Indians life resume.

“By investing now Australia can strengthen its position to be better placed for the future when long-haul travel, in particular leisure, becomes more common, whilst also working to secure additional business event inspired travel from India.

At the moment the Singapore Airlines/Virgin Australia alliance, Malaysian Airlines, the Qantas Group and Thai Airways through their respective South East Asian hubs, support the bulk of existing air services on the Australia-India route.

Early analysis suggests Australia will need an extra 345,000 seats to meet the expected demand for Australia from India out to 2020.

Indian arrivals to Australia have grown at a compound annual growth rate of 12.3 per cent over the last decade.

An estimated 17 per cent of the worlds population (approximately 1.2 billion people) are from India.

Source: eTurboNews

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International Tourism Off To A Strong Start In 2012

June 1, 2012 By

International tourist arrivals worldwide grew by 5.7% in the first two months of 2012. Demand remained strong in both advanced and emerging economy destinations, despite economic constraints in many of the source markets of Europe and North America.

The first results of 2012 indicate that international tourism continued to show sustained growth in spite of challenging economic conditions. During the first two months of 2012, international tourist arrivals grew by an estimated 5.7% compared to the same period of 2011, according to the May issue of the UNWTO World Tourism Barometer, released in Batumi, Georgia on the occasion of the 54th UNWTO Commission for Europe.

Europe sees continued growth

In Europe (+5%) results were above expectations, boosted by the strong growth in arrivals to Central and Eastern Europe (+8%) as well as to destinations of Northern Europe and Western Europe (both +6%). Europe’s performance is a continuation of an already solid 2011, when international arrivals increased by 6% overall to over 500 million. Demand has held up surprisingly well in the comparatively mature advanced economy destinations of Northern, Western and parts of Southern and Central Europe, despite continued concerns about the economy.

“These are welcome results for Europe in a moment in which countries are looking for sectors that can deliver on economic growth and job creation,” said UNWTO Secretary-General, Taleb Rifai. “We need to work together with tourism administrations to ensure that governments give priority to tourism as part of national policies to stimulate growth and employment. In this respect, the 54th Meeting of UNWTO Commission for Europe is focusing on levers that can further enhance tourism development, particularly the crucial issues of visa facilitation, tourism promotion and branding.”

At the same time, international tourism has been particular buoyant in many emerging economy destinations in Eastern Europe. “Eastern European destinations have strong tourism potential provided they shape the adequate conditions. Georgia, this year’s host of the UNWTO Commission for Europe, is a remarkable example of a destination with a strong commitment towards tourism development,” added Mr. Rifai. “As a result, arrivals have almost tripled in the past five years, from just below a million in 2006 to close to 3 million in 2011, with international tourism receipts reaching almost US$ 1 billion in 2011.”

Encouraging results across the world

In the first months of 2012, growth was positive in all regions, with the exception of the Middle East (-1%), where there were nonetheless encouraging signs of recovery, such as in Egypt (+32% in the first quarter). South-East Asia and South Asia (both at +10%) led growth by subregion.

Africa was the fastest-growing region with an increase of over 7% in international tourist arrivals thanks to continued growth in Sub-Saharan Africa (+7%) and a clear rebound in North Africa (+8%) as Tunisia (+53% in the first quarter) started to recover. Asia and the Pacific saw a 7% increase in tourist arrivals, led by South Asia and South-East Asia (both +10%). North-East Asia (+6%) recorded higher growth as well, with arrivals to Japan up by almost 10% in the first quarter. The Americas also reported significant growth (+6%), driven by the sustained strong demand in South America (+8%) and Central America (+7%).

Worldwide, international tourist arrivals surpassed 131 million in the first two months of 2012, up from 124 million in the same period of 2011.

According to the forecast prepared by UNWTO at the beginning of the year, international tourist arrivals are projected to increase by some 3% to 4% in 2012. For the year as a whole, the number of international tourist arrivals is expected to reach one billion for the first time.

Source: UNWTO

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Chinese Tourism To Europe Soars Due To Weak Euro

May 31, 2012 By

Wang Yalan is traveling to Europe again this year as the falling euro is prompting a rise in Chinese tourists.

“The expenses for local transportation and accommodation in European countries are high, especially when I prefer to travel by myself rather than join tour groups,” said Wang, who has a budget of about 10,000 yuan ($1,580), one month’s salary, to visit the Eiffel Tower in France and Antonio Gaudi’s works of architecture in Spain.

Last year, the 26-year-old manager in a Beijing digital publishing organization went to Germany.

“I’m not a big fan of luxury brands. But since it’s a good deal to shop with euros now, I will consider buying some luxuries in Europe,” said Wang, who is anticipating a shopping spree for clothes and handbags around vintage boutiques in the two countries.

Xi Lei, a 33-year-old Beijing resident who visited Italy and Greece for 15 days with about 20,000 yuan in June last year, said he would have saved as much as 3,000 yuan in travel costs if he had arranged the same trip this year.

“If the exchange rate was this low, I would be sure to buy more goods,” said Xi, who spent another 10,000 yuan in Italy for Armani handbags and Gucci wallets for friends and himself.

For Chinese travel agencies, the depreciation of the euro has come as a boost to travel in the region, which was traditionally thought an expensive route by many Chinese tourists.

Ctrip, a leading online travel agency, said in a recent news release that the euro, which is at its lowest against the yuan in a decade, will encourage more Chinese tourists to make travel plans this summer.

“Both our group tour packages and individual tourism products for a summer vacation in Europe are on the hot-selling list,” the statement said. “We also expect that tourists will shop for more luxury goods as the price, already lower than purchasing at home, became cheaper due to the weak currency.”

Although the prices of air tickets and hotels are lower than before, industry insiders said tourist agencies are not likely to cut the price for group tour packages as a result of the weaker euro.

“The exchange rate may reverse in a few months, so travel agencies don’t dare adjust prices immediately. But if the rate is pegged for a longer time or the euro continues to depreciate, it will be a possible result,” said Bai Jiang, manager of the European-bound travel business for China Travel Service.

Zhang Wei, general manager of the outbound department at the China International Travel Service head office, said Chinese tourists could save money even if the price for a group tour package remains unchanged.

“Generally speaking, tourists will spend extra money on some items at their own expense or give tips during the trip, which might amount to about 3,000 yuan,” she said.

“The lower exchange rate means they can also save about 500 yuan more than in the past.”

With domestic sales in the doldrums, Europe’s retail and hospitality industries are giving more favorable discounts and better services to attract Chinese tourists, said Ma Yiliang, a researcher at China Tourism Academy.

“The price of tour packages for Europe-bound travel fell about 7 percent in the first four months this year compared with the same period last year, while the number of tourists has increased by 16 percent,” he said.

Source: eTurboNews

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Beijing Is The Leader Of China’s Tourism Industry

May 29, 2012 By

Contributing nearly 10 percent of the nation’s total inbound and outbound tourism revenues, Beijing is no doubt the leader of China’s tourism industry.

Statistics from the Beijing tourism administration showed that the capital’s tourism service trade volume – measured by the revenue generated from both inbound and outbound tourists – reached $13.61 billion last year, increasing 25.2 percent from the previous year.

The growth was achieved despite a downturn in worldwide tourism resulting from the global financial crisis that started in 2008.

More impressively, the city’s lead in the industry was further consolidated in 2011.

Home to the nation’s capital for more than 600 years, Beijing is usually the first stop for foreign tourists planning a China trip.

The Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square, housed in the city center, and the Great Wall in its northern suburbs should be household names for foreigners with even a passing knowledge of China.

And tourists will be further fascinated by such places as the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) tombs, the Summer Palace, the Temple of Heaven and the city’s many ancient hutongs, or alleyways.

And as one of the financial, high-tech and transportation hubs in China, the city also receives a great number of business travelers.

So it should come as no surprise why Beijing made up about 8.1 percent of China’s inbound tourism revenue of $66.88 billion last year.

But growing even faster is Beijing’s outbound tourism.

Statistics show that the city’s outbound tourists generated a total revenue of $8.19 billion, growing 27.6 percent from the previous year and up 590 percent from $1.19 billion in 2003.

With a higher per capita income than most of the regions of China and easier access to visa application procedures in the city’s many foreign embassies, Beijing’s residents seem more willing and able to visit foreign countries than people in the rest of the country.

Due to their tendency to spend large amounts of money in the overseas destinations, tourists from Beijing are especially welcome by foreign tourism companies and authorities.

For example, the Canadian Tourism Commission recently cooperated with the Beijing-based China Youth Service (CYTS) to open an “Experiencing Canada” showroom in the travel agency’s headquarters.

The showroom displays Canada’s landmark sightseeing sites, cultures, people and life in an exhibition area of 200 square meters with photos and stories.

“This year, the focus of our cooperation is to promote the century-old Calgary Stampede festival in Canada,” said Zhang Lijun, president of CYTS.

CYTS is among the leading local travel agencies to greatly benefit from outbound tourism.

Last year, its outbound tourism revenue reached 8.46 billion yuan, increasing 38 percent from 2010.

Despite the overall growth of the industry, insiders have noticed the deficit of the tourism service trade.

Last year, Beijing’s inbound tourism revenue stood at $5.42 billion, compared with $8.19 billion in outbound tourism.

Room for improvement

“This means there is a great space for improvement in our efforts to attract foreign travelers,” said Zhang of CYTS.

In addition to upgrading tourism infrastructure, Zhang highlighted the need to improve service.

He cited many customer complaints about tourism services in China, such as forced shopping by travel guides and overcharging by local firms and vendors.

In a recent case, tourists to Sanya, Hainan province, complained that they were ripped off by local restaurant owners, who charged more than 4,000 yuan for an ordinary three-course meal.

“Therefore measures are needed to regulate the market and standardize services,” Zhang said.

He said improving the domestic tourism market requires the joint efforts of governments and enterprises.

A recent development is that CYTS and its 76 partner companies jointly released an announcement for standardized operations, including coordinating complaint resolution, offering trustworthy services and regulating staff behavior.

Another Beijing-based travel agency, the BTG International Travel & Tours, is also devoted to offering standardized and yet personalized services.

Since 2010, the company has begun to offer customers a modified contract in which ambiguous terms have been deleted, ensuring that tourists have a clear understanding of the responsibility of the company and the level of services they will have.

In addition, it also offers tailored services according to customers’ varied demands for lodging, dinning and transportation.

“We are able to offer services with the same quality as those travel companies in Japan, the United States and Europe,” said Guo Meiling, director of human resources at BTG.

Source: eTurboNews

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More Americans Will Be Travelling This Summer, Survey Reveals

May 23, 2012 By

For the second consecutive year, the outlook for summer travel continues to brighten with more than three in five U.S. adults (64%), or an estimated 154 million Americans, planning on taking at least one trip for leisure purposes during the next six months. The percentage of Americans planning to travel between May and October is up from 61 percent last April and 56 percent in April 2010.

The latest results of the travelhorizons™ quarterly report, co-authored by MMGY Global and the U.S. Travel Association, are based on a survey of 2,200 U.S. adults taken in April 2012.

“The April travelhorizons results come as welcome news for destinations and travel companies ahead of the summer and fall travel seasons,” said Roger Dow, president and CEO of the U.S. Travel Association. “We are seeing a renewed enthusiasm for travel among consumers and barring any dramatic events, we believe that domestic travel will remain on solid footing through the summer travel season.”

Business travel is expected to improve slightly in the next six months, compared to the same timeframe as last year, with 17 percent of U.S. adults planning at least one business trip between May and October, a typically slow period for such travel. An encouraging sign that general business activity in the U.S. is on the mend is that business travelers took an average of 6.3 trips in the past twelve months, the highest average number in the past five years.

The overall Traveler Sentiment Index™ (TSI), which tracks Americans’ evolving attitudes toward travel, reached 93.5 in April, nearly ten points higher than April 2011 (March 2007=100). It was also significant that April’s TSI remained essentially unchanged from the level of 93.6 in February, bucking the concern and speculation that higher gasoline prices earlier in 2012 would depress travel sentiment, as it did in 2011.

“While a more substantial uptick in the overall Index would signal an even more robust turnaround from the industry’s recent malaise, the results of the April survey clearly reveal that travelers have become more confident in their personal financial situation. The forthcoming summer travel season is therefore a wonderful time for travel service suppliers to capitalize on this growing optimism,” said Peter Yesawich, vice chairman of MMGY Global.

Source: eTurboNews

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Travel and Tourism Contributes Nearly USD2 Trillion To America GDP

May 21, 2012 By

The travel and tourism industry in the Americas region is three times the size of automotive manufacturing and roughly one-third larger than chemicals manufacturing and mining.

This is according to new research from the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) sponsored by American Express, launched on the first day of WTTC’s first Regional Summit of the Americas in the Riviera Maya, Mexico, from May 16-18.

The research, undertaken by Oxford Economics, shows that the sector’s direct contribution to the Americas GDP is US$666 billion, which is more than three times the GDP of automotive manufacturing and one-third larger than the global chemicals and mining industry.

Travel and tourism’s total contribution to GDP in the Americas was US$1.9trillion in 2011, or 8.6 percent of total GDP. This compares to 6 percent for automotive and mining and 7 percent for chemicals.

With 15 million direct employees in the Americas, travel and tourism is one of the leading employers in the region, surpassing the job creation of mining (2.5 m), chemicals manufacturing (2.5 m), automotive (4 m), and financial services (10 m).
The new research also showed that travel and tourism’s contribution to GDP is faster than most other sectors in the Americas. It will grow by 3.6 percent over the next 10 years, a faster growth rate than mining (1.5 percent), education (2 percent), chemicals (2.5 percent), and financial services (3.4 percent).

As the Americas Summit in the Riviera Maya commences, the research highlights the importance of travel and tourism in Mexico in terms of generating income and GDP in economies. It shows that travel and tourism spend is more powerful than most other sectors.

For example, in Mexico, every US$1 million spent on travel and tourism generates a further US$1.5 million to the economy as a whole, and 66 jobs (compared to an average of 42 for all sectors). The industry generates more jobs than all other sectors considered – double that of the automotive industry, 20 times that of mining and 6 times that of the financial services sector.

The story in other countries across the region is similar. The study looked at the United States, Canada, Jamaica, Brazil, and Argentina, as well as Mexico.

Across all countries US$1 million in travel and tourism spend generates more jobs than the average of all sectors, and consistently generates more in terms of GDP than sectors such as automotive manufacturing, mining, and chemicals manufacturing.

David Scowsill, President and CEO, WTTC, said: “These numbers are extremely significant. For over 20 years, the World Travel & Tourism Council has spearheaded global and regional analysis of the economic impact of travel and tourism. WTTC has now taken this research one step further and assessed the role travel and tourism plays in the economy of the Americas in comparison to other economic sectors and also how this looks like on a regional level.

“The results are extraordinary. Within our industry, we have always known that travel and tourism is a vast contributor to economic growth and job creation. These figures bear out just how significant our industry is for the Americas region.

“These figures prove that it is time that the governments really sit up and take notice of the travel and tourism industry. As a driver of economic recovery and growth in a very turbulent time, the industry stands apart for the sheer scale of its ability to create jobs and growth in every part of the globe and especially in the Americas as shown by this study.”

Bill Glenn, President, Global Corporate Payments and Business Travel, American Express said: “With each release of regional data from the latest WTTC research, we continue to see the value that travel can bring to GDP, job creation, and other economic factors. We are pleased to sponsor this research and provide the industry with another valuable asset to use to promote the benefits of travel.”

At WTTC’s Global Summit in Tokyo in April, WTTC’s research revealed that travel and tourism’s direct contribution to world GDP of US$2 trillion (2.8 percent) is more than double the GDP of automotive manufacturing and one-third larger than the global chemicals industry. Travel and tourism generates roughly the same GDP as the global education and communications sectors, and about half that of the global banking and financial services industry.

Please click here to download the full report.

Source: eTurboNews

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Streamlining The Travel Visa Process

May 18, 2012 By

Visa facilitation is central to stimulating economic growth and job creation through tourism. The G20 can have a particularly important role to play in this respect. G20 economies could boost their international tourist numbers by an additional 122 million, generate an extra US$206 billion in tourism exports, and create over 5 million additional jobs by 2015 by improving visa processes, according to preliminary research by the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) and UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) presented on the occasion of the T20 Ministers’ Meeting (Merida, Mexico, May 16, 2012).

Preliminary findings show that of the 656 million international tourists who visited G20 countries in 2011, 110 million needed a visa, while millions more were deterred from traveling by the cost, waiting time, and difficulty of obtaining a visa.

Facilitating visas for these tourists, many from some of the world’s fastest-growing source markets, could create over 5 million additional jobs in the G20 economies by 2015 and generate an additional US$206 billion in international tourism receipts.

In spite of the great strides made in recent decades to facilitate tourist travel, there are still important areas of opportunity, namely considering the possibilities to maximize the use of information and communication technologies in improving visa procedures. Further opportunities include improving the delivery of information, facilitating current processes to obtain visas, differentiated treatment to facilitate tourist travel, instituting eVisa programs, and establishing regional agreements for visa facilitation.

Implementing any or a combination of these can yield substantial returns in visits, tourism receipts, and jobs for the G20 economies. Referring particularly to the dramatic situation of unemployment, UNWTO Secretary-General, Taleb Rifai, called on G20 governments to look into enhancing visa facilitation in support of job creation. “Small steps towards visa facilitation can result in big economic benefits. By facilitating visas, the G20 countries stand to gain 5 million jobs at a time of rampant unemployment across the world. These are in addition to the hundreds of millions of direct and indirect jobs already being supported every day by the sector,” he said.

David Scowsill, President and CEO, WTTC, said: “Encouraging freedom to travel is a simple step that governments around the world can take to encourage more travelers and the creation of millions of new jobs and billions of dollars of GDP – without compromising national security. For the first time, this report makes clear the extent of the opportunity – it cannot be ignored.”

Source: eTurboNews

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A smooth visa application process is one of the main factors to attract Chinese visitors

May 14, 2012 By

A hassle-free visa application process is one of the main factors destinations need to consider to increase Chinese outbound visitor arrivals, WTM Vision Conference – Shanghai delegates heard this week.

Destinations are desperate to increase the number of Chinese tourists due to their high spending habits. In the first session Euromonitor International China Travel and Tourism Analyst Ray Li predicted Chinese tourists will spend $36 billion on shopping when overseas, which is double the amount they spent in 2011.
Speaking as part of the panel debate on the Chinese inbound and outbound markets, General Manager of MIKI Travel Cecelia Zhou told a packed room of delegates a smooth visa application process is vital for Chinese travellers when deciding their next overseas holiday destination.
Executive President of Jin-Jiang International Travel Ge Wanjun added Chinese people leave booking their holiday until the very last minute so visa application processes need to be made quick, easy and accessible.
Other factors destinations need to consider when trying to attract this increasing market is the “joint exercise from both the private and public sectors” CEO of TUI Travel China Marcel Schneider commented.
“There is a need to be willing to invest money, HR and time to develop the destination in order to meet the Chinese market’s expectations,” Schneider added.
President and General Manager of Anhui Region in China Li Guoqing explained: “Chinese tourists really need to be educated on outbound destinations, what is there to do? What is there to eat? Where is there to stay? In order to attract a high numbers of Chinese tourists.”
Reed Travel Exhibitions Director World Travel Market Simon Press, who opened WTM Vision Conference – Shanghai, said: “WTM Vision Conference Shanghai offered a fascinating insight to the Chinese tourism industry.
“Chinese tourists are in high demand due to their high in resort spending patterns and delegates heard the secrets to attracting high numbers of visitors from China.
“The event, in association with Chinese Business Network, is a great addition to the Vision portfolio, following on from similarly highly successful events in Moscow, London and Dubai.”
The final event in the 2012 series, WTM Vision Conference – Florence, takes place next Friday (18 May).
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International tourism receipts surpass USD1 trillion in 2011

May 8, 2012 By

According to the latest UNWTO World Tourism Barometer, international tourism receipts continued to recover from the losses of crisis year 2009 and hit new records in most destinations, reaching an estimated US$1,030 billion (euro 740 billion) worldwide, up from US$928 billion (euro 700 billion) in 2010. In real terms (adjusted for exchange rate fluctuations and inflation), international tourism receipts grew by 3.8 percent, while international tourist arrivals increased by 4.6 percent in 2011 to 982 million. This confirms the close correlation between both indicators, with growth of receipts tending to lag slightly behind growth of arrivals in times of economic constraints.

“These are encouraging results,” said UNWTO Secretary-General, Taleb Rifai. “The past two years have shown healthy demand for international tourism out of many markets, even though economic recovery has been uneven. This is particularly important news for countries facing fiscal pressure and weak domestic consumption, where international tourism, a key export and a labor intensive activity, is increasingly strategic to balancing external deficits and stimulating employment.”

“We trust that governments worldwide will progressively recognize this and engage in measures that support tourism including fairer tax policies and the facilitation of visas and travelers’ movements, as these have proven to stimulate economic growth and job creation,” he added.

By regions, the Americas (+5.7 percent) recorded the largest increase in receipts in 2011, followed by Europe (+5.2 percent), Asia and the Pacific (+4.3 percent), and Africa (+2.2 percent). The Middle East was the only region posting negative growth (-14 percent).

Europe holds the largest share of international tourism receipts in absolute numbers (45 percent share), reaching US$463 billion (euro 333 billion) in 2011, followed by Asia and the Pacific (28 percent share or US$289 billion/euro 208 billion), and the Americas (19 percent share or US$ 199 billion/euro 143 billion). The Middle East (4 percent share) earned US$46 billion (euro 33 billion), and Africa (3 percent share), US$ 33 billion (euro 23 billion).

Aside from international tourism receipts (the travel item of the Balance of Payment), tourism also generates export earnings through international passenger transport. The latter amounted to an estimated US$196 billion in 2011, bringing total receipts generated by international tourism to US$1.2 trillion, or US$3.4 billion a day on average.

As a result, international tourism (travel and passenger transport) currently accounts for 30 percent of the world’s exports of services and 6 percent of overall exports of goods and services. As a worldwide export category, tourism ranks fourth after fuels, chemicals and food, while ranking first in many developing countries.

Strong growth in international tourism expenditure from the BRIC countries
Many source markets generated strong demand in 2011. However, it was the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) that continued to stand out. China’s expenditure on international tourism increased by US$18 billion to US$73 billion, the Russian Federation increased by US$6 billion to US$32 billion, Brazil by US$5 billion to US$21 billion, and India by US$3 billion to US$14 billion. Together, their increases accounted for an additional US$32 billion, a value equivalent to the eighth largest source market by expenditure. Of the advanced economy source markets, Germany, Australia, Norway, Belgium, and Canada reported the biggest absolute growth.

INCREASES IN RECEIPTS IN EMERGING AND ADVANCED ECONOMY DESTINATIONS ALIKE

Both advanced and emerging economy destinations benefited from the 2011 growth in arrivals and receipts. Destinations where international tourism receipts grew by US$5 billion or more in absolute terms include the United States (increasing by US$13 billion to US$116 billion), Spain (by US$7 billion to US$60 billion), France (by US$7 billion to US$54 billion), Thailand (by US$6 billion to US$26 billion), and Hong Kong (China) (by US$5 billion to US$27 billion). Furthermore, significant increases on lower base value destinations were reported by Singapore, the Russian Federation, Sweden, India, the Republic of Korea, and Turkey.

Source

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