Georgia Among Top 5 Fastest Growing Tourist Destinations

The United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) 2018 Tourism Highlights Report sheds some light on the fastest-growing tourist destinations in 2017, based on international arrivals. Georgia is listed among the Top 5 fastest growing tourist destinations in the world.

Georgia welcomed 27.9% more visitors last year.

The list of the UNWTO Top 10 fastest growing destinations is as follows:

1. Egypt – up 55.1%

2. Togo - up 46.7 0%

3. San Marino – up 31.1%

4. Vietnam - up 29.1%

5. Georgia - up 27.9%

6. Palestinian territories - up 25.7%

7. Niue - up 25.4%

8. Nepal - up 24.9%

9. Israel - up 24.6%

10. Northern Mariana Islands - up 24.3%

The report reads that global tourist arrivals grew 6.8% in 2017, hitting 1.32 billion. That's 84 million more travelers than the previous year, the highest increase since the 2009 global economic crisis hit and well above UNWTO’s long-term forecast of 3.8% per year for the period 2010 to 2020. A total of 1,323,000 international tourist arrivals were recorded in destinations around the world.

By region, Africa and Europe grew at an above average rate, and by sub-region, North Africa and Southern and Mediterranean Europe led results in 2017, reflecting strong demand for destinations around the Mediterranean.

“2017 marks the eighth year in a row of sustained growth in Europe, the world’s most visited region,” the report says.

As for the world’s most popular destinations, which attracted the highest number of tourists in 2017, the list is as follows:

1. France - 86.9 million

2. Spain - 81.8 million

3. United States - 75.9 million

4. China - 60.7 million

5. Italy - 58.3 million

6. Mexico - 39.3 million

7. United Kingdom - 37.7 million

8. Turkey - 37.6 million

9. Germany - 37.5 million

10. Thailand - 35.4 million.

 By Thea Morrison