Most countries in the world know the fact that tourism is a major revenue grosser for their economy. This is the reason many countries are willing to invest in tourism development. The return they gain is the amount tourists spend when they visit their country.
Based on information received from the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), tourist spending across different regions, Europe stands at the top with $750 billion with more than 700 million tourists visiting the region in 2018.
In the Asia –Pacific region tourist spending touched $435 billion with more than 300 million tourists. Here is a breakdown of tourist spending and the number of visitors in major regions across the globe.
North and South America
Total tourist spending: $333 billion
Total visitors: 216 million
Middle East
Total tourist spending: $73 billion
Total visitors: 60 million
Africa
Total tourist spending: $38 billion
Total visitors: 67 million
Top countries popular with tourists
In trends observed in 2017 and 2018, the world’s tourists in general seem to prefer specific countries. This is proved by the fact that the top five countries for arrivals and tourist spending has been consistent for both the years. The top five countries are:
| Country | Tourist spending 2108 | Tourist arrivals 2018 | Tourist spending 2107 | Tourist arrivals 2017 |
| U.S | $214.5B | 79.6M | $210.7B | 74.8M |
| Spain | $73.8B | 82.8M | $68B | 81.8M |
| France | $67.4B | 89.4M | $60.7B | 86.9M |
| Thailand | $63B | 38.3M | $57.5B | 35.4M |
| U.K | $51.9B | 36.3M | 51.2B | 37.7M |
Which countries do these tourists come from?
The highest spending tourists come from China who spent close to $270 billion in international tourism in 2018. This is almost twice the amount Americans spent on tourism in the same year.
Tourist spending is a significant contribution to a country’s economy. Many countries are waking up to this fact and are rolling out the red carpet to tourists.