The United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) has recorded an upturn for global tourism in 2021.
A total of 415 million international trips were made.
The UNWTO World Tourism Barometer indicates that rising rates of vaccination, combined with easing of travel restrictions due to increased cross-border coordination and protocols, have all helped release pent up demand.
However, international tourist arrivals (overnight visitors) were still 72 per cent below the pre-pandemic year of 2019, according to preliminary estimates by UNWTO.
International tourism rebounded moderately during the second half of 2021, with international arrivals down 62 per cent in both the third and fourth quarters.
Europe and the Americas recorded the strongest results in 2021 compared to 2020 (up by 19 and 17 per cent respectively).
By subregion, the Caribbean saw the best performance, 63 per cent above 2020.
