- The United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) has issued provisional data about how the top tourism destinations performed in 2011.
- France continues to comfortably hold on to the top spot with 79.5 million international tourist arrivals, well ahead of its nearest rival, the United States, for the 4th consecutive year.
INTERNATIONAL TOURIST ARRIVALS (Staying Visits)
2011 Rank | Destination | Arrivals (mn) |
2010 Rank |
2009 Rank |
2008 Rank |
2007 Rank |
1 | France | 79.5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
2 | USA | 62.3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
3 | China | 57.6 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
4 | Spain | 56.7 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 |
5 | Italy | 46.1 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
6 | Turkey | 29.3 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
7 | UK | 29.2 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
8 | Germany | 28.4 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 7 |
9 | Malaysia | 24.7 | 9 | 9 | n/a | n/a |
10 | Mexico | 23.4 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
- The USA however, comfortably takes the top spot on revenue generated at €83.5 billion, ahead of Spain and France at €43bn and €38.7bn respectively.
INTERNATIONAL TOURIST RECEIPTS
2011 Rank | Destination | Receipts €bn |
2010 Rank |
2009 Rank |
2008 Rank |
2007 Rank |
1 | USA | 83.5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
2 | Spain | 43.0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
3 | France | 38.7 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
4 | China | 34.8 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
5 | Italy | 31.0 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
6 | Germany | 28.0 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 |
7 | UK | 26.0 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 |
8 | Australia | 22.6 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
9 | Macao | TBC | 9 | n/a | n/a | n/a |
10 | Hong Kong | 19.5 | 10 | 12 | n/a | n/a |
- When it comes to the revenue sources, Germany is the most valuable source market for international tourism, spending an estimated €60.6 billion in 2011. Our nearest neighbour is the 4th largest source market with a spend of just over €36.3 billion.
EXPENDITURE ON INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL
2011 Rank | Source Market | €bn |
1 | Germany | 60.6 |
2 | USA | 56.8 |
3 | China | 52.2 |
4 | UK | 36.3 |
5 | France | 29.9 |
6 | Canada | 23.7 |
7 | Russian Federation | 23.3 |
8 | Italy | 20.7 |
9 | Japan | 19.5 |
10 | Australia | 19.3 |