Tag: World Tourism Organization

Taking into account the unparalleled introduction of travel restrictions across the world, the United Nations specialized agency for tourism, UNWTO, expects that international tourist arrivals will be down by 20-30% in 2020 when compared with last year. However, UNWTO stresses that these numbers are based on the latest developments as the global community faces up to an unprecedented social and economic challenge and should be interpreted with caution in view of the extreme uncertain nature of the current crisis. An expected fall of between 20-30% could translate into a decline in international tourism receipts (exports) of between US$300-450 billion, almost ... Read more

Outbound tourism from emerging markets, “especially India and Russia”, but also from smaller Asian and Arab markets is expected to continue to grow strongly, predicts World Tourism Organization. Based on current trends, economic prospects and the UNWTO Confidence Index, UNWTO forecasts international arrivals to grow 3 per cent to 4 per cent next year, more in line with historic growth trends. As a general backdrop, the stability of fuel prices tends to translate into affordable air travel while air connectivity continues to improve in many destinations, facilitating the diversification of source markets. Trends also show strong outbound travel from emerging ... Read more

According to an estimate published by the World Tourism Organization, the number of international tourist arrivals rose by 6 per cent last year to 1.4 billion. The increase was driven by travel to southern Europe, the Middle East and Africa, said the report, citing economic growth and cheaper air travel as key factors. Although arrivals to the Americas grew by a modest three per cent – four for North America – Europe, Africa and Asia-Pacific performed better, with rises of six, seven and six per cent respectively. In 2010, the WTO had forecast that international tourist arrivals would only hit ... Read more

Qatar has become the most open country in the Middle East and the 8th most open in the world in terms of visa facilitation. The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) recently updated its visa openness rankings, confirming Qatar’s recent visa facilitation improvements including allowing nationals of 88 countries to enter Qatar visa-free and free-of-charge. With an aim to improve visa facilitation, Qatar has introduced an online platform for efficient and transparent visa processing and e-visas, as well as a free 96-hour transit visa doubling the time stopover passengers can remain in the country. As a result of these measures, Qatar’s visa openness ranking ... Read more

Lionel Messi joins the World Tourism Organization to promote the value of responsible tourism. The UNWTO Secretary-General, Zurab Pololikashvili, appointed Messi as UNWTO Ambassador for Responsible Tourism at Camp Nou in Barcelona, after the F.C. Barcelona – Leganés match. “During my travels I have had the opportunity to know other cultures and societies as well as others ways to see the world and this is very enriching. The World Tourism Organization as a specialized Agency of the United Nations works to make tourism a source of development and I am happy I can join this mission of promoting responsible tourism,” ... Read more