International tourism

In 2010, international tourism reached US$919B, growing 6.5% over 2009, corresponding to an increase in real terms of 4.7%. In 2010, there were over 940 million international tourist arrivals worldwide. By 2016 that number had risen to 1,235 million, producing 1,220 billion USD in destination spending. The COVID-19 crisis had significant negative effects on international tourism significantly slowing the overall increasing trend.

International tourism has significant impacts on the environment, exacerbated in part by the problems created by air travel but also by other issues, including wealthy tourists bringing lifestyles that stress local infrastructure, water and trash systems among others.

History

As a result of the late-2000s recession, international travel demand suffered a strong slowdown from the second half of 2008 through the end of 2009. This negative trend intensified during 2009, exacerbated in some countries due to the outbreak of the H1N1 influenza virus, resulting in a worldwide decline of 4.2% in 2009 to 880 million international tourists arrivals, and a 5.7% decline in international tourism receipts.

COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the tourism industry due to the resulting travel restrictions as well as slump in demand among travelers. The tourism industry has been massively affected by the spread of coronavirus, as many countries have introduced travel restrictions in an attempt to contain its spread. The United Nations World Tourism Organization estimated that global international tourist arrivals could have decreased by 58% to 78% in 2020, leading to a potential loss of US$0.9–1.2 trillion in international tourism receipts.

In many of the world's cities, planned travel went down by 80–90%. Conflicting and unilateral travel restrictions occurred regionally and many tourist attractions around the world, such as museums, amusement parks, gyms and sports venues closed down. After March 2020, tourist firms' connectivity has skyrocketed. Restaurants are the most significantly impacted subsectors of tourism, followed by airline firms. UNWTO reported a 65% drop in international tourist arrivals in the first six months of 2020. Air passenger travel showed a similar decline. The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development released a report in June 2021 stating that the global economy could lose over US$4 trillion as a result of the pandemic.

International tourism recovered gradually from 2021 as travel restrictions eased. According to UN Tourism (formerly the UNWTO), around 1.3 billion international arrivals were recorded in 2023, about 88% of pre-pandemic levels. In 2024 an estimated 1.4 billion tourists travelled internationally — roughly 99% of the 2019 level and 11% higher than 2023 — marking a virtual return to pre-pandemic volumes, while international tourism receipts reached about US$1.6 trillion

Some people have taken advantage of airlines drastically reducing their fares to travel for leisure despite multiple warnings to remain at home, along with two-week self-quarantine requirements upon arrival or return from travel.

Together with a decreased willingness to travel, the restrictions have had a negative economic impact on the travel sector in those regions. A possible long-term impact has been a decline of business travel and international conferencing, and the rise of their virtual, online equivalents. Concerns have been raised over the effectiveness of travel restrictions to contain the spread of COVID-19.

In Cambodia, Foreign arrivals in March 2020 fell by 65% year-on-year. Angkor Wat, usually crowded with thousands of tourists per day, was left almost deserted, with an average of 22 ticket sales per day for the whole Angkor National Park during April 2020. In Vietnam, Foreign arrivals in April 2020 fell by 98% year-on-year.