The UAE has risen from 13th to 6th globally on the list of top earners from international tourism, after logging $51.9bn in international tourism receipts, UN Tourism’s May 2024 World Tourism Barometer showed.
According to the United Nations’ tourism agency, international tourism receipts rankings are led by the United States, earning $176bn in 2023, followed by Spain ($92bn), the United Kingdom ($74bn), France ($69bn) and Italy ($56bn), with the UAE in sixth.
Following the above, destinations earning the most from international tourism in 2023 include Türkiye, Australia, Canada, Japan, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Macao (China), India and Mexico which complete the top 15 list of tourism earners.
UAE tourism spending
Upward movements in the ranking among the top earners include the UK jumping to the 3rd position 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.
Croatia (from 32nd to 25th), Morocco (from 41st to 31st) and the Dominican Republic (43rd to 34th) also moved up in the Top 50 ranking by receipts in 2023, as did Qatar (from 51st to 37th) and Colombia (50th to 44th).
Meanwhile, China has recovered its position as the top spender on international tourism in 2023 as the Asia and the Pacific (APAC) region consolidates its recovery from the impacts of the pandemic, the United Nations tourism agency (UN Tourism) reported.
In 2022, the list of top spenders was headed by the United States. France, Spain and the USA took the top spots for most-visited destinations.
Chinese expenditure on travel abroad reached $196.5bn in 2023, ahead of the United States ($150 bn), Germany ($112bn), the United Kingdom ($110bn) and France ($49bn).
Making up the top ten spenders for 2023 are Canada, Italy, India, the Russian Federation and the Republic of Korea.
India jumped to 8th place, from 14th in 2019, confirming the growing importance of the country as a source market, while Italy rose from 10th to 7th position.
France consolidated its position as the world’s most visited destination in 2023 with 100m international tourist arrivals.
Spain was second with 85m, followed by the United States (66m), Italy (57m) and Türkiye, which closed the top five with 55m international tourists.
Completing the top ten most visited destinations in 2023 are Mexico, the United Kingdom, Germany, Greece and Austria.
Compared to before the pandemic, Italy, Türkiye, Mexico, Germany and Austria all rose one position, while the United Kingdom rose from 10th to 7th and Greece from 13th to 9th.
As per the latest World Tourism Barometer, in 2023, international tourist arrivals recovered 89 percent of 2019 levels and 97 percent in Q1 2024.
UN Tourism’s projection for 2024 points to a full recovery of international tourism with arrivals growing 2 per cent above 2019 levels, backed 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 $1.7tn in 2023, about 96 per cent of pre-pandemic levels in real terms.
Tourism direct GDP recovered pre-pandemic levels in 2023, reaching an estimated $3.3tn, equivalent to 3 percent of global GDP.
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