By Akram Medhat
A report by the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) revealed that tourist traffic worldwide reached 1.4 billion tourists in 2018, an increase of 5.6% compared with 2017, with the top ten tourist destinations around the world accounting for about 42% of total global tourism traffic, receiving 583 million tourists.
The report, announced by Dr. Saeed El-Batouty, an economic advisor at the UNWTO, added that France topped the world's top ten tourist destinations in terms of the number of tourist arrivals last year, with 93.6 million tourists.
Spain came second, attracting 83 million tourists, followed by the United States with 82.2 million tourists, while China ranked fourth with 62 million tourist arrivals.
Italy took fifth place, attracting 61.2 million tourists, Turkey sixth with 46.1 million tourists, seventh place went to Mexico with 41.7 million tourists, Germany was eighth with 39 million tourists, then Thailand ninth with 38.5 million tourists, and at the bottom of the top ten list came the United Kingdom, receiving 35.7 million tourists.
Table of the world's top ten tourist destinations by number of tourist arrivals in 2018:
Tourist destination | Number of tourists (millions) |
|---|---|
France | 93.6 |
Spain | 83 |
United States | 82.2 |
China | 62 |
Italy | 61.2 |
Turkey | 46.1 |
Mexico | 41.7 |
Germany | 39 |
Thailand | 38.5 |
United Kingdom | 35.7 |
