For many destinations, visitor expenditure is a very important part of the economy, creating employment and development opportunities. The amount of money tourists spend is called Tourism Receipts.
According to UNTWO, in 2018 the Worldwide International Tourism receipts totalled a staggering 1,451 billion USD!
Europe accounts for more half of the world's international arrivals, followed by Asia and the Pacific with 1 in 4 arrivals.
International Tourism Receipts 2018 (% share)
Europe represents almost 40% of international tourism receipts, followed by Asia and Pacific with almost one third.
So now we can see in which regions the money is spent, let’s find out who the top Host Countries – or who are the top earners in the world!
Around 10% of China's 1.4 billion inhabitants travel internationally. By 2027, the number of passport holders is expected to reach 300 million or 20% of the population.
International Tourism Receipts By Generating Markets
| Country | International Tourist Receipts (US$ billions) | |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 2018 | |
| Australia | 34.2 | 36.8 |
| Canada | 31.8 | 33.3 |
| China | 257.7 | 277.3 |
| France | 41.4 | 47.9 |
| Germany | 89.1 | 94.2 |
| Italy | 27.7 | 30.1 |
| Korea | 30.6 | 32.0 |
| Russia | 31.1 | 34.5 |
| United Kingdom | 71.4 | 75.8 |
| United States | 135.0 | 144.2 |
We have looked at figures for the host regions so now let us look at individual host countries.
Now we will find out if any of your own top ten destinations were in the UNWTO statistics! These figures were collected by looking at international tourist arrivals and taken from their 2019 highlights report which details the 2018 results.
Top Ten Tourist Destinations (Host Countries) of the World (2017/2018)
| Country | International Tourist Arrivals (million) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 2018 | % Change 2017 / 2018 | |
| China | 60.7 | 62.9 | 4 |
| France | 86.9 | 89.4 | 3 |
| Germany | 37.5 | 38.9 | 4 |
| Italy | 58.3 | 62.1 | 6 |
| Mexico | 39.3 | 41.4 | 5 |
| Spain | 81.9 | 82.8 | 1 |
| Thailand | 35.4 | 38.3 | 8 |
| Turkey | 37.6 | 45.8 | 18 |
| United Kingdom | 37.7 | 36.3 | -4 |
| United States | 76.9 | 79.6 | 3 |
It probably won’t surprise you to find that the highest earners from tourism are generally those with some of the highest international tourist arrivals. It makes sense- check out the infographic below.
Now look at the table below which gives the details those top ten earners shown in the infographic. These are the Host Destination Countries which earned the most from tourism. We measure this by looking at the International Tourism Receipts.
International Tourism Receipts (USD Billions)
| Country | 2017 | 2018 |
|---|---|---|
| Australia | 41.7 | 45.0 |
| China | 38.5 | 40.3 |
| France | 60.7 | 67.4 |
| Germany | 39.8 | 42.9 |
| Italy | 44.2 | 49.3 |
| Japan | 33.3 | 36.7 |
| Spain | 68.1 | 73.8 |
| Thailand | 56.9 | 63.0 |
| United Kingdom | 49.0 | 51.9 |
| United States | 210.7 | 214.5 |
Travel the globe learning interesting trivia and information related to countries on every continent!
- Every year, approximately one-third of Bangladesh finds itself underwater from monsoons.
- Libya is the only country with a single coloured flag
- Nepal’s flag is the only one in the world that is not square or rectangular.
- More than half of all doctors in Finland are women.
- The total area of Australia’s coral reefs is greater than the total area of 130 individual countries.
- Iceland has far more tractors per 1000 hectares of cropland than any other nation- more than twice that of the next highest country, Slovenia.
- Kids in Mali spend only 2 years in school. More than half of them start working between the ages 10 and 14.
- The price of gasoline in Turkmenistan is only $US 0.43 per litre. This is cheaper than in any of the OPEC (oil-producing) countries.
Now that you have discovered some fun facts about different countries around the world, please use the discussion board to share some that you have learnt or are aware of.