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The UN’s World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) has just released its 2024 year-in-review data, confirming that the tourism industry has bounced back from the pandemic. About 1.4 billion people traveled internationally last year, which is 99% of the number who did the same in 2019, the last full year before Covid-19 hit the world.
That amounted to $1.9 trillion being spent in the tourism industry, meaning each tourist spent more than $1,000 per person on average. But where did people go? Overall, Europe was the most-visited continent with 747 million tourists in 2024, according to the UNWTO.
That number was especially impressive considering that Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine kept travelers away from parts of the region, notes the tourism body in its report. France was the world’s most-visited nation in 2024, with 100 million tourists, according to figures recently released by the country’s tourism board. Spain made a strong showing with 98 million tourists to land in second place.
“2024 was an exceptional year for French tourism, promising prospects for 2025!” Atout France, the country’s national tourism marketing department, said in a stat.