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Dhaka: International tourist arrivals grew 5 percent in the first six months of 2025 compared to the same period of 2024. This is about 4 percent above pre-pandemic levels.
According to UN Tourism, almost 690 million tourists travelled internationally between January and June 2025, about 33 million more than in the same period of 2024, though results were mixed among regions and subregions.
Africa saw the strongest performance while Asia Pacific continued to rebound.
Africa saw a 12 percent increase in January-June 2025 compared to the same period last year. Both North Africa (+14pc) and Subsaharan Africa (+11pc) recorded double-digit growth this period.
Arrivals in Asia and the Pacific grew 11 percent this period, which is 92 percent of the pre-pandemic figure (-8pc compared to 2019). North-East Asia (+20pc) saw the strongest performance relative to 2024, though it remained 8 percent below 2019 levels.
According to IATA, both international air traffic (RPKs) and international air capacity (ASKs) grew 7 percent in January-June 2025 versus 2024. Global occupancy in accommodation establishments reached 69 percent in June 2025, slightly below 70 percent in June 2024. Occupancy reached 71 percent in July 2025 (same as in July 2024) based on STR data.
Monthly data on international tourism receipts show strong earnings through June 2025 in major destinations such as Japan (+18pc), the United Kingdom (+13pc through March), France (+9pc), Spain (+8pc) and Türkiye (+8pc).
In 2024 international tourism receipts grew 11 percent to a record USD 1,734 billion, about 14 percent above pre-pandemic levels (real terms) reflecting already strong visitor spending around the world last year.
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