The first six months of 2010 saw international tourist arrivals grow by 7% according to the August Interim Update of the UNWTO World Tourism Barometer. This result confirms the recovery trend beginning in the last quarter of 2009 and is expected to continue in the second half of the year at a somewhat more moderate rate. The Interim Update was officially presented at the 4th UNWTO/PATA Forum on Tourism Trends and Outlook (2-4 September, Guilin, China) to tourism stakeholders from the public and private sector, as well as academia.

International tourist arrivals are estimated to have grown by 7% in the first half of 2010. While growth was modest in April as a consequence of the closure of European airspace following the eruption of a volcano in Iceland, results were strong in May (+10%) and June (+8%). Data available for July indicates that growth is set to continue at a steady rate.

Growth was positive in all world regions, led by a robust performance of emerging economies expanding at 8% compared to 6% in advanced economies. Asia and the Pacific (+14%) and the Middle East (+20%), where results were already positive in the second half of 2009, continue to lead growth in the first half of 2010 with the majority of destinations in both regions posting double digit growth rates.

In the Americas (+7%), Central and South America show steady growth, as does North America. Growth has been slower in the Caribbean but results are still markedly improved as compared to 2008 and 2009. Europe (+2%) shows the slowest recovery but results from recent months are slightly more positive. Although recovery has not yet returned to Northern Europe, both Western and Southern Mediterranean Europe show reasonable growth. Africa (+7%), the only region to grow in 2009, maintained this momentum during the first half of 2010.

Source: www.unwto.org