Number of international tourist arrivals worldwide 1950-2022

The number of international tourist arrivals worldwide bounced back in 2022 after dropping sharply with the onset of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Despite the significant annual increase, international tourism arrivals remained below pre-pandemic levels, totaling approximately 917 million in 2022. In the first year of the health crisis, inbound tourism arrivals worldwide had declined to roughly 409 million, the lowest figure recorded since 1989.

Europe is the most popular destination for international tourism

Since 2005, Europe has been the global region attracting the highest number of international tourists. While inbound tourist arrivals in Europe rose significantly in 2022 over the previous year, they did not catch up yet with pre-pandemic levels. Within this region, Southern and Mediterranean Europe was the most popular area for international tourism, recording over 300 million inbound arrivals prior to the pandemic, and around 139 million arrivals in 2021.

COVID-19 impact on the global travel and tourism market

Travel and tourism were among the industries most hit by the health crisis, as countries worldwide restricted non-essential trips in order to limit the spread of the virus. According to Statista's Mobility Market Insights, the revenue of the global travel and tourism market shrunk in 2020, declining by around 55 percent over 2019. In this sense, the segments of cruises and package holidays reported ones of the highest drops in revenue in 2020.