International tourist arrivals hit 84% of pre-COVID levels

By Tuba Ongun

International tourism hit 84% of its pre-pandemic level this January-July, with the backing of strong recovery in the Middle East, Europe, and Africa, the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) said on Tuesday.

Some 700 million tourists traveled internationally in the first seven months of 2023, up 43% year-on-year, the latest UNWTO World Tourism Barometer data showed.

July was the busiest month since the beginning of this year, with 145 million international travelers seen, about one-fifth of the total so far this year.

"The extreme weather events we have witnessed over recent months as well as the critical challenges of managing increasing tourism flows underline the need to build a more inclusive, sustainable and resilient sector and ensure recovery goes hand-in-hand with rethinking of our sector," said Zurab Pololikashvili, the organization’s secretary-general.

The Middle East showed the strongest performance from January to July, with arrivals exceeding 20% of pre-pandemic levels.

Thanks to robust intra-regional demand and travel from the US, Europe hit 91% of pre-COVID levels in the same period in 2019.

Africa rebounded to 92% of pre-virus travelers in seven-month period and the Americas hit 87%, according to available data.

On the other hand, Asia and the Pacific showed the weakest performance, with 61% of pre-virus levels.​​​​​​​