International tourism levels in 2024 will be slightly higher than pre-pandemic levels thanks to an expected revival in tourism in Asia, the UN World Tourism Organisation (WTO) has said.

"International tourism is expected to fully recover to pre-pandemic levels in 2024, with initial estimates indicating growth of 2.0% above 2019 levels," the Madrid-based agency said in a statement.

Figures for last year showed that 1.3 billion tourists travelled abroad, up 44% from 2022 and 88% from the number in 2019.

WTO highlighted "a stronger recovery in Asian markets" but noted that the biggest growth was in the Middle East, which is "the only region to have overcome pre-pandemic levels, with 22% more arrivals than in 2019".

Europe, the world's most visited region, also saw strong results, with tourist arrivals up 94% on 2019 figures and those for Africa up 96%.

In relative terms, the Asia-Pacific region was the weakest with only 65% of pre-pandemic levels, although China lifted health restrictions a year ago after a strict three-year strategy to reduce those infected by Covid when it broke away from the world.

"The latest data underscore the resilience of tourism and its rapid recovery, with pre-pandemic values expected by the end of 2024," said the organization's Secretary General Zurab Pololikashvili.

Chinese tourism was expected to gain momentum this year, with Beijing offering visa-free travel for citizens of France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Malaysia until the end of November.

However, the outlook for 2024 "remains dependent on the pace of recovery in Asia and the evolution of existing economic and geopolitical risks", mostly due to the war between Israel and Hamas and the uncertain global economy.

"Continued inflation, high interest rates, volatile oil prices and trade disruptions could continue to impact transport and accommodation costs in 2024," it warned. / BGNES