São Paulo – The rebound of tourism in countries like Tunisia and Egypt, which were directly affected by the Arab Spring, has contributed to a 4% increase in world tourist flow from January to August this year, according to information released last Monday (5th) by the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).
The organization informed that the sector’s recovery caused the number of visitors to North Africa to increase by 10% from the same period in 2011. Increased activity in Egypt has stemmed the decline seen in the Middle East, from 7% from January to August 2011, to just 1% in the same period of 2012.
“The recovery of Tunisia is clearly reflected in the results of North Africa,” according to a UNWTO statement. “The Middle East continues to show signs of recovery, with particularly promising results in Egypt,” it adds. It is worth noting that tourism was seriously hit in the region due to conflicts in Syria.
Despite the economic crisis, tourism increased in most regions, such as Europe (3%), Asia and the Pacific (7%), Africa (6%) and Americas (4%). In the American continent, the sharpest increases were seen in Central America (7%), South America (6%) and the Caribbean (5%), and North America saw the lowest rate (3%). Generally speaking, tourism increased more in emerging nations than developed ones.
“This growth is a very positive result in view of the global economic situation. We must remain cautious, however, as we have also observed some weaker months during the year, a trend that might return in the remainder of the year,” said the UNWTO secretary general Taleb Rifai, according to the statement. In June and July, activity picked up by a much lower rate than in the rest of the year.
International tourist arrivals stood at 705 million from January to August. The UNWTO estimates 1 billion arrivals by the end of the year. In 2011, there were 990 million arrivals.
The UNWTO also reports that tourism revenues increased significantly in many of the leading international destinations, such as Egypt, for instance, where revenues were up 13%. Last year, tourism revenues amounted to US$ 1.2 trillion worldwide.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
