Int’l tourist arrivals up 4% in 2025, growth to continue in 2026: UN Tourism

International tourism continued its steady recovery in 2025, with global tourist arrivals rising by four per cent compared with the previous year, according to the latest World Tourism Barometer from UN Tourism.

An estimated 1.52 billion international overnight visitors travelled worldwide in 2025—nearly 60 million more than in 2024—marking a return to growth rates similar to the pre-pandemic period.

The rebound was driven by strong consumer demand, improved air connectivity, expanded visa facilitation, and the ongoing recovery of Asia and the Pacific. Large outbound markets also played a key role in sustaining growth.

Regional highlights

Europe remained the world’s most visited region, welcoming 793 million international tourists in 2025, up four per cent from 2024 and six per cent above 2019 levels.

Western Europe and Southern Mediterranean Europe recorded solid gains, while Central and Eastern Europe posted a strong rebound but remained below pre-pandemic volumes.

The Americas recorded 218 million international arrivals, with growth of just one per cent.

Performance varied across subregions, with South America and Central America leading growth, while parts of the Caribbean were affected by Hurricane Melissa late in the year.

The United States also experienced weaker results in the second half of 2025.

Africa saw the strongest regional growth, with arrivals rising eight per cent, led by North Africa, which posted an 11 per cent increase.

The Middle East continued to outperform pre-pandemic levels, with arrivals nearly reaching 100 million and standing 39 per cent above 2019 figures, despite more modest growth of 3% in 2025.

Asia and the Pacific recorded 331 million arrivals, up 6% year-over-year but still 9% below pre-pandemic levels. North-East Asia led the recovery, while South Asia returned to 2019 volumes.

Fast-growing destinations

Several destinations reported double-digit growth in 2025, including Brazil, Egypt, Morocco, and Seychelles.

Other countries such as Bhutan, Iceland, Guyana, South Africa, and Japan also posted strong gains through November, highlighting broad-based global recovery.

Industry indicators reflected the rebound, with international air capacity and passenger traffic up seven per cent through October 2025.

Global hotel occupancy also reached 66 per cent in November, matching levels from the previous year, says UN Tourism.

Outlook for 2026

UN Tourism expects international arrivals to grow by three to four per cent in 2026, assuming continued recovery in Asia and the Pacific and stable global economic conditions.

However, geopolitical tensions, high travel costs, inflation in tourism services, and extreme weather events remain key risks, the organization said.

Surveyed experts were cautiously optimistic, with 58 per cent expecting better performance in 2026 and 31 per cent predicting similar results to 2025.

Major global events, meanwhile, expected to boost travel demand in 2026, including the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics (Italy) and the FIFA World Cup 2026 (Canada, United States and Mexico)

Overall, the tourism sector is entering a phase of normalized growth following the dramatic rebound after the COVID-19 pandemic, with strong demand and expanding connectivity expected to sustain momentum—provided global risks remain contained, says UN Tourism.

“Demand for travel remained high throughout 2025, despite high inflation in tourism services and uncertainty from geopolitical tensions. We expect this positive trend to continue into 2026 as global economy is expected to remain steady and destinations still lagging behind pre pandemic levels fully recover," stated UN Tourism Secretary-General Shaikha Alnuwais.

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