More than 1.1 billion travelers traveled internationally between January and September 2025, around 50 million more than in the same period last year, according to the latest edition of the UN Tourism World Tourism Barometer. The data confirms that global travel demand remains strong, despite high inflation in tourism services and the uncertainty caused by geopolitical and trade tensions.
The third quarter of the year recorded an increase of 4% compared to 2024, supported by a particularly strong summer season in the northern hemisphere. “International tourism continues to grow steadily in both arrivals and – above all – receipts,” said UN Tourism Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili, underlining that “Africa and Europe stand out for their performance.”
Africa and Europe drive global growth
Africa emerged as the growth champion in the first nine months, with a 10% increase in arrivals. North Africa (+11%) and Sub-Saharan Africa (+10%) are both growing at double-digit rates, despite limited data availability.
Europe, the world’s largest tourist region, attracted 625 million international tourists between January and September, up 4%. The summer season was crucial for all sub-regions: Western Europe grew by 5%, the Southern Mediterranean by 3%, while Northern Europe recorded a marginal decline (-1%). In contrast, Central and Eastern Europe continued to recover strongly (+8%), although it remains 11% below 2019 levels.
Mixed picture in the Americas – Asia continues to rebound
Overall, the Americas recorded 2% growth in the nine months. South America stood out with a 9% increase, although it stabilized in the third quarter. North America fell by 1%, affected by small decreases in the US and Canada. Central America (+3%) and the Caribbean (+1%) also moved positively, but at lower rates.
In the Middle East, international arrivals increased by 2% compared to 2024, forming the most dynamic outperformance compared to 2019 (+33%).
Asia-Pacific strengthened by 8%, reaching 90% of pre-pandemic levels. Northeast Asia rose 17% compared to 2024, but is still 12% below 2019.
The countries with the highest arrivals increases include Brazil (+45%), Vietnam and Egypt (both +21%), Ethiopia and Japan (+18%), South Africa (+17%), Sri Lanka and Mongolia (+16%) and Morocco (+14%). All of the above destinations have already exceeded 2019 levels.
Air traffic and occupancy
According to IATA, international air traffic increased by 7% in the nine months, while available capacity by 6%. Global accommodation occupancy reached 68% in September, the same as last year (STR data).
Strong consumer spending in most countries
A strong increase is also recorded in tourism receipts. Japan (+21%), Nicaragua (+19%), Egypt (+18%), Mongolia and Morocco (+15%), Latvia (+13%), Brazil (+12%) and France (+9%) record the best performances in receipts.
At the same time, outbound spending remains dynamic in major markets: the US (+7% to August), France (+5%), Germany and Italy (+4%), Spain (+15% to August) and South Korea (+7%).
Outlook
Performances so far are within the UN Tourism forecast of annual growth of 3-5% in 2025. However, high travel prices and an unstable geopolitical environment constitute significant downside risks for the rest of the year.
