The UAE has ascended from 13th to 6th in the global rankings of top international tourism earners, recording $51.9B in international tourism receipts, as indicated by UN Tourism’s May 2024 World Tourism Barometer.
The United Nations’ tourism agency reports that the United States leads the international tourism receipts rankings, earning $176B in 2023, followed by Spain ($92B), the United Kingdom ($74B), France ($69B), and Italy ($56B), with the UAE in sixth position.
Subsequently, the destinations earning the most from international tourism in 2023 include Türkiye, Australia, Canada, Japan, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Macao (China), India, and Mexico, completing the top 15 list of tourism earners.
In terms of UAE tourism spending, notable upward movements in the rankings among top earners include the UK advancing to 3rd from 5th pre-pandemic, Türkiye from 12th to 7th, Canada from 15th to 9th, Saudi Arabia from 27th to 12th, and Mexico from 17th to 15th.
Additionally, Croatia (from 32nd to 25th), Morocco (from 41st to 31st), and the Dominican Republic (43rd to 34th) also improved in the Top 50 ranking by receipts in 2023, as did Qatar (from 51st to 37th) and Colombia (50th to 44th).
Meanwhile, China regained its position as the top spender on international tourism in 2023 as the Asia and the Pacific (APAC) region strengthens its recovery from the pandemic’s effects, according to the United Nations tourism agency (UN Tourism).
In 2022, the top spenders list was led by the United States. France, Spain, and the USA occupied the top spots for most-visited destinations.
Chinese expenditure on international travel reached $196.5B in 2023, surpassing the United States ($150B), Germany ($112B), the United Kingdom ($110B), and France ($49B).
The top ten spenders for 2023 also include Canada, Italy, India, the Russian Federation, and the Republic of Korea.
India rose to 8th place, up from 14th in 2019, highlighting the growing significance of the country as a source market, while Italy moved from 10th to 7th position.
France solidified its status as the world’s most visited destination in 2023 with 100M international tourist arrivals.
Spain followed with 85M, the United States with 66M, Italy with 57M, and Türkiye, rounding out the top five with 55M international tourists.
Completing the top ten most visited destinations in 2023 were Mexico, the United Kingdom, Germany, Greece, and Austria.
Compared to the pre-pandemic period, Italy, Türkiye, Mexico, Germany, and Austria each rose one position, while the United Kingdom advanced from 10th to 7th, and Greece from 13th to 9th.
According to the latest World Tourism Barometer, international tourist arrivals in 2023 recovered 89 per cent of 2019 levels and 97 per cent in Q1 2024.
UN Tourism’s forecast for 2024 predicts a full recovery of international tourism, with arrivals growing 2 per cent above 2019 levels, driven by strong demand, enhanced air connectivity, and the continued recovery of China and other major Asian markets.
Total export revenues from international tourism, including both receipts and passenger transport, reached an estimated $1.7T in 2023, approximately 96 per cent of pre-pandemic levels in real terms.
Tourism direct GDP reached pre-pandemic levels in 2023, estimated at $3.3T, equivalent to 3 per cent of global GDP.
