International tourist arrivals grew by more than four percent in 2011 to 980 million, according to the latest UNWTO World Tourism Barometer and growth is expected to continue in 2012, albeit slower, with the sector tipped to hit the milestone of one billion mark later this year. Asia and the Pacific (+ six per cent) was up 11 million arrivals in 2011, reaching a total 216 million international tourists. By region, Europe (+ six per cent) was the best 2011 performer, while by sub region South-America (+10 per cent) topped the ranking. In contrast to previous years, growth was higher in advanced economies (+ five percent) than in emerging ones (+3.8 per cent), due largely to the strong results in Europe, and the setbacks in the Middle East and North Africa. “International tourism hit new records in 2011 despite the challenging conditions,” said UNWTO secretary-general, Taleb Rifai. “For a sector directly responsible for five percent of the world's GDP, six per cent of total exports and employing one out of every 12 people in advanced and emerging economies alike, these results are encouraging, coming as they do at a time in which we urgently need levers to stimulate growth and job creation,” he said. Despite persistent economic uncertainty, tourist arrivals to Europe reached 503 million in 2011, accounting for 28 million of the 41 million additional international arrivals recorded worldwide. Central and Eastern Europe and Southern Mediterranean destinations (+ eight percent each) experienced the best results. Although part of the growth in Southern Mediterranean Europe resulted from a shift in traffic away from the Middle East and North Africa, destinations in the Mediterranean also profited from improved outbound flows from markets such as Scandinavia, Germany and the Russian Federation.
