WTO: world tourism stalls in 2001

According to preliminary results released by the World Tourism Organization (WTO), growth in the normally buoyant tourism sector ground to a halt in 2001: international arrivals slipped by 1.3% due to the terrorist attacks of September 11 and the weakening economies of major tourism generating markets.

WTO Secretary-General Francesco Frangialli said: “The tragic events of September 11 affected tourism in every region of the world, but even before that we could see a cooling in growth of outbound travel from countries like Germany, Japan and the United States during the first eight months of the year.”

International tourist arrivals totalled 689 million in 2001, compared to 697 million in 2000. WTO estimates that during the first eight months of 2001, from January to August, arrivals worldwide grew by 3%-more than one point lower than the average annual gain of 4.3% in tourist arrivals over the past ten years.

However, the last four months of 2001 suffered a drop of 11% in arrivals worldwide and substantial decreases in every region: Africa (-3.5%); Americas (-24%); East Asia/ Pacific (?10%); Europe (-6%); Middle East (-30%); and South Asia (-24%).

“September, October and November were a disaster for international travel,” said Mr. Frangialli, “But we have indications that December was not as bad and these statistics do not reflect the dramatic changes in travel habits in the fourth quarter of 2001, as many tourists substituted domestic trips for international travel.”

The WTO reported that other events that had a negative impact on the tourism industry last year included the outbreak of foot and mouth disease in the United Kingdom, Ireland and the Netherlands, which resulted in drops of 5-6% during the first eight months of 2001; the strength of the US dollar, which contributed to a decline of 2.5% in arrivals to the United States for the first nine months of 2001; the year-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict, that depressed travel throughout the Middle East; and the economic crisis in Argentina, which is reflected in tourism losses in neighbouring Southern Cone countries.

The WTO said that the only other year in recent times that has shown negative growth in world tourism was 1982, when international arrivals declined by 0.4%. The Gulf War year of 1991 recorded a small increase of 1.2% in international arrivals.

The WTO has pointed to some recovery on the horizon, predicting that the tourism industry will pick up its habitual rhythm of growth by the second half of 2002, as business travel resumes and consumer confidence returns.

“The outlook for Easter holiday travel and for the 2002 summer season is positive and will depend mainly on the evolution of the world economy, rather than on the events of September 11,” said Mr Frangialli.

Read the full WTO press release