World tourism statistics and rankings

Most visited countries by international tourist arrivals

<sup>Main article: World Tourism rankings

In 2008, there were over 922 million international tourist arrivals, with a growth of 1.9% as compared to 2007. In 2009, international tourists arrivals fell to 880 million, representing a worldwide decline of 4% as compared to 2008. The region most affected was Europe with a 6% decline.[4]

The World Tourism Organization reports the following ten countries as the most visited from 2006 to 2009 by the number of international travelers. When compared to 2006, Ukraine entered the top ten list, surpassing Russia, Austria and Mexico,[3] and in 2008, surpassed Germany.[11] In 2008, the U.S. displaced Spain from the second place. Most of the top visited countries continue to be on the European continent.

In 2009, Malaysia made it into the top 10 most visited countries' list. Malaysia secured the ninth position, just below Turkey and Germany. In 2008, Malaysia was in 11th position. Both Turkey and Germany climbed one rank in arrivals, occupying seventh and eighth positions respectively, while France continued to lead the ranks in terms of tourist arrivals.[12]</sup>

Rank	Country	UNWTO Regional Market	International tourist arrivals (2009)[12]	International tourist arrivals (2008)[12]	International tourist arrivals (2007)[12]	International tourist arrivals (2006)[12]
1	France	Europe	74.2 million	79.2 million	80.9 million	77.9 million
2	United States	North America	54.9 million	57.9 million	56.0 million	51.0 million
3	Spain	Europe	52.2 million	57.2 million	58.7 million	58.0 million
4	China	Asia	50.9 million	53.0 million	54.7 million	49.9 million
5	Italy	Europe	43.2 million	42.7 million	43.7 million	41.1 million
6	United Kingdom	Europe	28.0 million	30.1 million	30.9 million	30.7 million
7	Turkey	Europe	25.5 million	25.0 million	22.2 million	18.9 million
8	Germany	Europe	24.2 million	24.9 million	24.4 million	23.6 million
9	Malaysia	Asia	23.6 million	22.1 million	21.0 million	17.5 million
10	Mexico	North America	21.5 million	22.6 million	21.4 million	21.4 million

[edit] International tourism receipts

International tourism receipts grew to US$944 billion (€642 billion) in 2008, corresponding to an increase in real terms of 1.8% from 2007.^[2] When the export value of international passenger transport receipts is accounted for, total receipts in 2008 reached a record of US$1.1 trillion, or over US$3 billion a day.^[2]
The World Tourism Organization reports the following countries as the top ten tourism earners for the year 2009. It is noticeable that most of them are on the European continent, but the United States continues to be the top earner.

Rank	Country	UNWTO Regional Market	International Tourism Receipts (2009)[12]	International Tourism Receipts (2008)[12]	International Tourism Receipts (2007)[12]	International Tourism Receipts (2006)[12]
1	United States	North America	$94.2 billion	$110.1 billion	$97.1 billion	$85.8 billion
2	Spain	Europe	$53.2 billion	$61.6 billion	$57.6 billion	$51.1 billion
3	France	Europe	$48.7 billion	$55.6 billion	$54.3 billion	$46.3 billion
4	Italy	Europe	$40.2 billion	$45.7 billion	$42.7 billion	$38.1 billion
5	China	Asia	$39.7 billion	$40.8 billion	$37.2 billion	$33.9 billion
6	Germany	Europe	$34.7 billion	$40.0 billion	$36.0 billion	$32.8 billion
7	United Kingdom	Europe	$30.1 billion	$36.0 billion	$38.6 billion	$34.6 billion
8	Australia	Oceania	$25.6 billion	$24.8 billion	$22.3 billion	$17.8 billion
9	Turkey	Europe	$21.3 billion	$22.0 billion	$18.5 billion	$16.9 billion
10	Austria	Europe	---	$21.8 billion	$18.9 billion	$16.6 billion

[edit] International tourism expenditures

The World Tourism Organization reports the following countries as the top ten biggest spenders on international tourism for the year 2009. For the fifth year in a row, German tourists continue as the top spenders.^[12]

Rank	Country	UNWTO Regional Market	International Tourism Expenditures (2009)[12]	International Tourism Expenditures (2008)[12]	International Tourism Expenditures (2007)[12]	International Tourism Expenditures (2006)[12]
1	Germany	Europe	$80.8 billion	$91.0 billion	$83.1 billion	$73.9 billion
2	United States	North America	$73.1 billion	$79.7 billion	$76.4 billion	$72.1 billion
3	United Kingdom	Europe	$48.5 billion	$68.5 billion	$71.4 billion	$63.1 billion
4	China	Asia	$43.7 billion	$36.2 billion	$29.8 billion	$24.3 billion
5	France	Europe	$38.9 billion	$43.1 billion	$36.7 billion	$31.2 billion
6	Italy	Europe	$27.8 billion	$30.8 billion	$27.3 billion	$23.1 billion
7	Japan	Asia	$25.1 billion	$27.9 billion	$26.5 billion	$26.9 billion
8	Canada	North America	$24.3 billion	$26.9 billion	$24.7 billion	$20.6 billion
9	Russia	Europe	$20.8 billion	$23.8 billion	$21.2 billion	$18.1 billion
10	Netherlands	Europe	$20.7 billion	$21.7 billion	$19.1 billion	$17.0 billion

[edit] Most visited cities

Top 10 most visited cities by estimated number of international visitors by selected year
City	Country	International visitors (millions)	Year/Notes
Paris	France	14.8	2009 (Excluding extra-muros visitors)[13]
London	United Kingdom	14.1	2009[14]
Bangkok	Thailand	10.21	2008 (External study estimation)[15]
Singapore	Singapore	9.7	2009[16]
Kuala Lumpur	Malaysia	8.94	2008 (External study estimation)[15]
Hong Kong	China	8.9	2009[17][18]
New York City	United States	8.7	2009[19]
Dubai	United Arab Emirates	7.58	2008[15][20]
Istanbul	Turkey	7.51	2009[21]
Shanghai	China	6.7	2007[22]