Confidence in Tourism Sector Gradually Picking Up

The decline in international tourism may have started to bottom out, according to the latest edition of the United Nations World Tourism Oragnizations's (UNWTO) World Tourism Barometer.

Worldwide, international tourist arrivals declined by 7 percent between January and August 2009, but the rate of decline has eased in the past few months. These results, as well as the most recent economic data, confirm UNWTO's initial forecast of a 5 percent decline in international tourist arrivals for the full year 2009. For 2010, UNWTO expects a moderate growth.

Decline in International Tourism Easing in Recent Months

International tourist arrivals worldwide are estimated to have declined by 7 percent between January and August 2009. Destinations worldwide recorded a total of 600 million arrivals, down from 643 million in the same period of 2008. 

Nevertheless, the downward trend that started in September last year may have begun to bottom out. Arrivals in the two high-season months of July and August declined by 3% compared with a decrease of 8 percent in the first half of the year, and data available for September points to a continuation of this upward trend.