International tourism has come a long way to returning back to pre-pandemic levels. The United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) reports that international arrivals reached 80% of prior levels during the first quarter of 2023. That's an estimated 235 million tourists traveling internationally in just three months, more than double the same period in 2022. The recovery has been robust across various regions, including Europe, Africa, the Americas, and the Middle East
Why has this happened? In addition to few (if any) restrictions on travel, the popularity of online travel and booking platforms makes it easy for jetsetters to buy flights from their phones. They can compare real-time prices, plan out personalized itineraries, and pay for bookings with a few button clicks.
We've also seen a blending of business and personal travel into longer, more flexible trips. Termed "bleisure" by travel fans, the concept gives business travelers an excuse to book a few extra days to see the sites and even bring friends or family along. It's not surprising to see some of these trips lean toward the more exotic, with luxury accommodations and excursions becoming the norm for trips of all lengths.
So, where are people traveling? The Global Tourism Data of inbound tourists from the UNWTO gives a peek into the most popular destinations across the globe from data collected in 2023.
1. France
100 million visitors ($68.6 billion USD in receipts)
Tourism in France took a big jump in 2023, with Forbes reporting a 12.3% increase in just the first quarter. France currently has around 29,000 tourist accommodations for travelers to stay, with hotels making up 17,600 of those locations. Luxury hotels alone saw a jump in occupancies, an incredible 31.4% increase from the year before.
The region with the most hotels is the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, followed by Île-de-France, where Paris can be found.
2. Spain
85.17 million visitors ($92 billion USD in receipts)
Spain has seen phenomenal growth in its popularity as a tourist spot, with the Spanish Statistical Office reporting 5.2 million international tourists in December. This was an increase of 26.2% from the previous December and represented part of the total 18.7% increase for the entire year.
Where were visitors from? The United Kingdom sent the most tourists (907,752 million), followed by France (819,405 million) and Germany (561,521 million). All three countries had more tourists in 2023, with increases of 18% to 23% over 2022.
Spain is known for its lovely year-round weather, which may be why so many flock to its warm temps when other places turn cold. More visitors came in January than other months, and June was the least popular.
3. United States of America
66.48 million visitors ($175.9 USD in receipts)
While the U.S. is at number three on this list, the post-pandemic recovery it's seeing lags a bit behind other countries. The U.S. Travel Association reports international travel volumes at 84% of 2019 levels, with a full recovery expected by 2025.
Visitors to the U.S. spend around $4,000 per visit and add $155 billion to the U.S. economy each year.
Of the countries that send the most tourists, many have exceeded pre-pandemic levels. These include the Caribbean and other countries in the Americas, as well as Europe. Visitors from China and Japan have been reluctant to return after COVID. Both send around half of the tourists they used to, leaving the U.S. economy with four million fewer shoppers to spend their vacation dollars.
4. Italy
57.25 million visitors ($55.9 billion USD in receipts)
Reuters reports that Italy broke records in 2023 with more international tourists visiting the country than domestic travelers. This hadn't happened since the pandemic.
The influx of visitors created a boon for the hospitality industry, and Italy saw a 13.4% increase in hotel stays. The 134 million registered guests was an all-time high, with 10% more total nights booked in 2023 than in 2022.
However, all the buzz about Italy caused the country to rethink its hottest tourist spots, even limiting the number of hours vacationers could visit and charging for the most popular sites. Venice, for example, has instituted a fee system to move about the city during peak hours; Capri, Linosa, and other locales created an outright ban on cars for everyone but the locals.
5. Turkey
55.16 million visitors ($49.5 billion USD in receipts)
Turkey is known for its amazing scenery and year-round popularity, and over 550 of the country's beaches were awarded blue flag status in 2023. The voluntary award recognizes beaches and marinas based on several "environmental, educational, safety, and accessibility" standards.
Its geographic location helps it attract tourists from Western Europe, Eastern Europe, and Asia. Of all the places people come to see, Istanbul tops the list. In fact, the city was ranked as the most visited city in the world in 2023.
Each visitor spends around $952 per trip to Turkey, a 27% increase over 2019 (the last year tracked at pre-pandemic levels).
6. Mexico
42.15 million visitors ($30.8 billion USD in receipts)
According to Mexico Daily News, 75.02 million international tourists added $30.8 billion to Mexico's economy in 2023, an increase of 10% over the previous year and a jump of 25.4% from 2019.
Mexico counts people who come into the country and stay at least one night as international tourists, as well as cruise ship passengers who embarked from the U.S. or other countries.
These travelers are also more likely to spend serious cash while in Mexico.
Tourists headed to Mexico pay around $680 during their trip, a much higher amount than the global average for all countries (just $411.)
7. United Kingdom
37.22 million visitors ($73.9 billion USD in receipts)
Why do people visit the U.K.? If you ask the U.K. Office for National Statistics, it's to get away on holiday. Just under 16 million overseas travelers came to the area for a vacation, making up 42% of visits, and they were more likely to make a stop in London. The next best reason was to see loved ones, with 12.8 people in this category making the trip to a variety of regions within the U.K.
In 2023, the number of people that visited the country was down from 2019, but visitors spent more money. The U.S. sent the most frequent tourists (5.1 million visits) and was in the top three countries outside of the EU. Australia and Canada were the other two non-EU source countries.
France came in as the second-highest source of U.K. tourists overall, with 3.2 million visits in 2023.
8. Germany
34.8 million visitors ($37.4 billion USD in receipts)
Germany saw a gradual recovery to its status as a top destination in 2023, with hotel stays at 90% of 2019 levels. The Netherlands, Switzerland, and the U.S. were the top sources of tourists for Germany in 2023.
According to the German National Tourist Board (GNTB), America contributed more to the post-pandemic recovery than other countries, reaching 92.5% of the goal to resume pre-pandemic levels.
Germany saw fewer travelers from China and Japan than before COVID.
9. Greece
32.74 million visitors ($22.3 billion USD in receipts)
The Bank of Greece has good news for the country, which has been working to come back from a decade of economic woes. With travel receipts up 16.5% from 2022 to 2023, 22.1 billion USD has been added to Greek communities. The EU's role in recovery made up 54.2% of travel receipts and added 11.6% to the total.
Other countries, including Russia and the U.S., increased receipts by 18.3% and added 9.2 billion euros to the Greek economy in 2023.
10. Austria
30.91 million visitors ($25 billion USD in receipts)
According to Statistiks Austria, over 74% of Austria's overnight stays come from international tourists, making the country highly dependent on countries like Germany and the Netherlands. Austria's higher hotel prices didn't deter visitors in 2023, and guests booked 150 million overnight stays in the country last year. The number of international visitors was just slightly (1%) below 2019 levels.
What cities will top next year's list?
While COVID slowed down international travel and caused the industry to change significantly, tourism is back and better in many ways (like the improvement of digital tools to help explore locations and book affordably).
What does the future hold? While the story has yet to be written on the rest of 2024, certain trends, like the rise in digital nomad hubs, may be here to stay. Many people still work from home and have no desire to stay in one place, but they do want community to share new adventures.
It may also lead to more emphasis on "off the beaten track" destinations — those hidden gems that haven't been shared on hundreds of Instagram Stories. We may also see some renewed focus on eco-conscious travel, whether that's with more energy-efficient accommodations or new ways to get from point A to point B. All of these trends could shake the rankings of this list, giving us new winners to admire in 2025.