Topping the list of top spending countries for 2022 are the United States, France and Spain, with the United States taking the top spot as the most visited destination.
The richest people in 2023
China's outbound travel spending is expected to reach $196.5 billion by 2023, surpassing the United States ($150 billion), Germany ($112 billion), the United Kingdom ($110 billion) and France ($49 billion).
The top 10 spending countries in 2023 are Canada, Italy, India, the Russian Federation and South Korea. India jumps from 14th place in 2019 to 8th place, confirming its growing importance as a sending market, while Italy moves up from 10th to 7th place.
Most visited in France
France solidifies its position as the world's most visited travel destination with 100 million international tourist arrivals in 2023. Spain comes in second with 85 million, followed by the United States (66 million), Italy (57 million) and Turkey, which completes the top five with 55 million international tourists.
Mexico, the United Kingdom, Germany, Greece and Austria round out the top 10 most-visited destinations for 2023. Compared to before the pandemic, Italy, Turkey, Mexico, Germany and Austria have all moved up one spot, while the United Kingdom has risen from 10th to 7th and Greece from 13th to 9th.
The United States tops the list of tourism revenues
In terms of international tourism receipts, the United States will lead the way with $176 billion in 2023, followed by Spain ($92 billion), the United Kingdom ($74 billion), France ($69 billion) and Italy ($56 billion).
Following these countries, the destinations with the highest international tourism receipts in 2023 include the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Australia, Canada, Japan, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Macau (China), India and Mexico, rounding out the top 15 countries in terms of tourism receipts.
Among the top income earners, the UK jumped to third place from fifth place before the pandemic, while the UAE rose from 13 to sixth, Turkey from 12 to seventh, Canada from 15 to ninth, Saudi Arabia from 27 to 12 and Mexico from 17 to 15.
Croatia (from 32nd to 25th), Morocco (from 41st to 31st) and the Dominican Republic (from 43rd to 34th) have also moved up in the rankings of the top 50 earners for 2023, as have Qatar (from 51st to 37th) and Colombia (from 50th to 44th).
Global recovery forecast
According to the latest UN World Tourism Indicators, international tourist arrivals are expected to recover to 89% of 2019 levels in 2023 and 97% in the first quarter of 2024. UN Tourism's 2024 forecast predicts that international tourism will recover fully, with arrivals increasing by 2% over 2019 levels, supported by strong demand, improving air connectivity and the continued recovery of China and other key Asian markets.
Total export receipts from international tourism, including both receipts and passenger traffic, will reach an estimated $1.7 trillion in 2023, approximately 96% of pre-pandemic levels in real terms. Tourism direct GDP will recover to pre-pandemic levels in 2023, reaching an estimated $3.3 trillion, equivalent to 3% of global GDP.
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