Tourism enjoys continued growth, generating $5b per day

International tourist arrivals grew 5 percent in 2018, to reach the 1.4 billion mark, two years ahead of the World Tourism Organization’s long-term forecasts, according to the UNWTO International Tourism Highlights, 2019 Edition. At the same time, export earnings generated by tourism grew to $1.7 trillion, an increase of 4 percent, outpacing the world economy in 2018.

Total export earnings from international tourism grew by 4 percent in real terms in 2018. In addition to the $1.5 trillion in receipts that destinations earned, international tourism generated another $256 billion from international passenger transport taken by non-residents. This raised total tourism exports to $1.7 trillion, or $5 billion a day.

2018 was the ninth consecutive year of sustained growth, and tourism now represents 7 percent of global exports, growing at a faster rate than merchandise exports for the last seven years.

“This latest edition of our Highlights demon