Tourism is one of the major industries in many countries. Europe leads the world in tourist arrival numbers. A few facts about global tourism are:
- International arrivals grew by 7% in 2017 to 1.3 billion people.
- International Tourism receipts exceed $1.3 Trillion.
- Europe received the most arrivals at about 671 million followed by Asia-Pacific and Americas.
- 1 in 10 jobs is related to Tourism.
With those fascinating figures, the following are the world’s top 10 tourist destinations based on 2017 data:
Click to enlarge
Source: UNWTO Tourism Highlights 2018, World Tourism Organization (UNWTO)
France continues to be the top tourist destination. Spain jumped from number 3 to 2 this year. Cities such as Paris and Barcelona are flooded with millions of tourists each year. Among the emerging markets, China, Mexico, Turkey and Thailand attract enough tourists to be in the top 10 ranking.
