Boat ride in Vernice (Photo: AFP/VNA)

According to UN Tourism, more than 285 million tourists travelled internationally in January-March, about 20% more than the first quarter of 2023, underscoring the sector’s near-complete recovery from the impacts of the pandemic.

UN Tourism’s projection for 2024 points to a full recovery of international tourism with arrivals growing 2% above 2019 levels. International tourism is experiencing a rapid recovery in Asia and the Pacific where arrivals reached 82% of pre-pandemic levels in Q1 2024, after recovering 65% in the year 2023.

Europe, the world's largest destination region, exceeded pre-pandemic levels in a quarter for the first time, plus 1% from Q1 of 2019. Africa welcomed 5% more arrivals in the first quarter of 2024, while the Americas practically recovered pre-pandemic numbers this first quarter, with arrivals reaching 99% of 2019 levels.

Total export revenues from international tourism reached 1.7 trillion USD in 2023, about 96% of pre-pandemic levels in real terms.