World Market for Travel and Tourism

Date published: 15 Feb 2007

Euromonitor International has just published “The World Market for Travel and Tourism” report, which offers insight into the big picture trends in the fast moving but challenging global travel and tourism industry. Here are some of the key report highlights…

Global trends in international arrivals

After its downturn following the New York terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001, the travel and tourism market made a strong recovery by the latter years of the review period (2000-2005), with the number of arrivals leaping by 10% in 2004 and increasing by a further 6% in 2005 to reach 118.6 million.

Growth was attributable to factors such as: an increase in information and booking facilities made available over the Internet; an ongoing desire by consumers to travel more frequently and further afield; stronger branding and globalisation by companies; and the expansion of low-cost carriers (LCCs).

Over the review period the market weathered the impact of various shocks, including the Iraq conflict and numerous terrorist attacks; the outbreak of SARS in 2003, the Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004 and the Atlantic hurricanes of 2004 and 2005.

The global travel and tourism market was adversely affected by the economic downturn in many countries at the start of the review period, and was positively impacted by the strengthening of the world economy in 2004 and 2005, when many currencies appreciated against the US dollar.

Although tourism growth continued in 2005, it was suppressed to some extent by rising oil prices, which struck airlines in particular, as well as by further acts of terrorism and the emergence of avian flu in several countries.

Regional trends in receipts

Western Europe took a similar level of importance in terms of international tourism receipts for arrivals, with a share of 44% in 2005. These grew strongly between 2000-2005, due to the strengthening of the euro and British pound against the US dollar.

Asia-Pacific has a much lower share of receipts than arrivals, due to the relatively low average spend in this region, while North America ranked second in value terms as the average spend by tourists in the US is very high.

Average receipts in Australasia were much higher than for other regions, at US$2,743 in 2005, as people tend to stay longer in these long-haul destinations.

Growth over the review period was highest in Australasia, where the value of tourism receipts soared by 97% in US dollar terms between 2000 and 2005. This was partly due to the appreciation of the Australian and New Zealand dollars against the US dollar.

North America saw growth in receipts of just 7%, reflecting declining tourism arrival numbers in that region.

Leading destinations

France continued to lead the world in terms of tourism arrivals, which totalled 77.2 million in 2005. France is easily accessible from most parts of Europe, and benefits from its variety of landscapes and favourable climate, as well as its historical value. It is nevertheless a mature market, showing little growth since 2001.

Spain remained in second position through to 2005, with 56.9 million international arrivals, benefiting from its warm climate and culture, as well as its numerous beaches in the south and skiing facilities in the north.

Despite suffering a sharp fall-off in tourists after the events of 11 September 2001, the US continued as the world's third largest tourism destination in 2005, with arrivals reaching 49.3 million. Florida is a particularly popular destination for European tourists, being home to several of the world's largest theme parks.

China has become an increasingly popular destination since it has opened up to the West and improved its infrastructure and facilities. It had almost caught up with the US in terms of total arrivals by 2005, which reached an estimated 47.9 million.

In terms of tourism receipts, the US continued to dominate the global market in 2005, with a value of just over US$108 billion. The long-haul status of the US for travellers from Europe and Japan means that tourists tend to stay for longer periods of time and spend more money.

Spain and France trailed a long way behind the US, with total international receipts of US$62 billion and US$43.9 billion respectively in 2005.

Australia and Japan also ranked fairly high in terms of total receipts, due to the high levels of expenditure per tourist. The average receipt per tourist in Australia was US$2,859 and US$2,672 in Japan, reflecting the long-haul status of Australia and the high costs of living in Japan.

"The World Market for Travel and Tourism" report