Doha, Qatar: Qatar was the best-performing destination globally in terms of tourist arrivals between January and July 2023, according to the latest United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) World Tourism Barometer, which tracked the sector’s post-pandemic recovery over the course of 2023 up to the end of July.
It said Qatar’s international tourist arrivals’ percentage during the period was +95%, making it the highest globally. Generally, arrivals in the Middle East exceeded pre-pandemic levels by 20%, the best results across all regions in January–July 2023. The Middle East is also the only world region to surpass 2019 levels within this period, with several destinations enjoying extraordinary results, including Saudi Arabia (+58%) and Jordan (+23%).
International tourism recovered to 84% of pre-pandemic levels in the January–July 2023 period (-16% versus 2019) following a strong second quarter and early part of the Northern Hemisphere summer season, the report noted.
It added that travel demand continued to show remarkable resilience and sustained recovery amid economic and geopolitical challenges.
After reaching 80% in Q1 2023, international tourist arrivals hit 85% of pre-pandemic levels in Q2 2023 and 90% in July 2023, backed by continued pent-up demand, the UNTWO World Tourism Barometer stated.
An estimated 700 million tourists travelled internationally between January and July 2023, about 43% more than in the same months of 2022, though 16% fewer than in 2019.
It added that Europe welcomed 375 million of those travellers, or 54% of the world total.
The report noted that the month of July was the busiest so far, with 145 million international travellers crossing international borders, about 20% of the seven-month total.
Strong demand for international travel was seen from several large sources during the period, with many exceeding the levels of 2019. The United States and Germany both spent 11% more on outbound travel than in the same months of 2019, while Italy spent 15% more.
The results show international tourism remains well on track to reach 80% to 95% of pre-pandemic levels in 2023, as projected by UNWTO in the January 2023 World Tourism Barometer, the report stated.
