Over the past year, the number of travelers increased by 10%, reaching 760 million people. These figures were published in Hamburg by experts from the World Tourism Organization. According to their data, the most active travelers remain Europeans: 55% of all tourists in the world are Europeans. In second place, by a large margin, are residents of the Asia-Pacific region: they account for 20% of the global tourist flow. Americans, however, account for only 16% of travelers.
Despite their pronounced craving for a change of scenery, Europeans are not fans of long-distance travel: 89% of tourists do not leave the borders of the Old World during their holidays. Americans are far more active in this regard – they travel outside their continent much more often. Nevertheless, due to their relatively small numbers, they are unable to change the overall picture, and it is as follows: out of every ten tourists on our planet, eight travel within their own continent.
Hence the choice of modes of transport – most trips are made by car or bus. True, the popularity of air transport is also quite high. But railways play only a supporting role in the global travel industry.
Experts from the World Tourism Organization predict further sustainable development of the industry: in 2020, out of every 100 inhabitants of our planet, 21 will be tourists. In the middle of the last century, only one person out of every hundred traveled.
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