MK sports Spain, Jan. 15, 2025. (Photo by Gustavo Valiente/Xinhua)" src="https://www.globaltimes.cn/Portals/0/attachment/2025/2025-01-09/ef4891d2-fab8-4281-a1f5-d72627868b9d.jpeg" />

Tourists take selfies in Madrid, Spain, Jan. 15, 2025. (Photo by Gustavo Valiente/Xinhua)

 

An aerial drone photo taken on Oct. 10, 2023 shows the view of Shibadong Village of Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, central China's Hunan Province. Seven villages in China have been honored as Best Tourism Villages by the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UN Tourism) in its 2024 selection, according to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. (Xinhua/Chen Sihan)

 

This photo taken on Dec. 27, 2022 shows a view of Guadalupe in Extremadura, Spain. The village was selected by the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) as one of the "Best Tourism Villages of 2022". (Photo by Gustavo Valiente/Xinhua)■

International tourist arrivals rose by 11 percent in 2024, with 1.4 billion people traveling internationally, according to the World Tourism Barometer published by UN Tourism on Tuesday.

The data, which is published on the eve of the FITUR international tourism exhibition in Madrid, means that numbers have recovered to 99 percent of levels seen in 2019 just before the COVID-19 pandemic.

UN Tourism Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili welcomed the results. He said: "In 2024, global tourism completed its recovery from the pandemic and, in many places, tourist arrivals and especially earnings are already higher than in 2019."

Growth is expected to continue throughout 2025, he said, "driven by strong demand contributing to the socio-economic development of both mature and emerging destinations."

Madrid-based UN Tourism reports that Asia and the Pacific region saw 316 million international travelers in 2024, 33 percent (78 million people) higher than in 2023, and 87 percent of pre-pandemic levels.