UN agency sees bullish tourism market in 2014

Demand for international tourism remained strong in the first four months of 2014 with arrivals growing 5 percent to 317 million, according to the latest World Tourism Barometer of the UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).

In a statement, the UNWTO noted that this strong performance of the global tourism industry would be sustained as the current peak tourism season (May-August 2014) was expected to have some 460 million tourists traveling abroad.

“The encouraging start to 2014 and the overall positive sentiment in the sector raise high expectations for the current peak tourism season, benefiting destinations from both advanced and emerging economies,” said UNWTO secretary-general Taleb Rifai.

“The 5-percent growth in the number of international tourists crossing borders in the first months of 2014 further reflects the impact of the increase in public support to the sector as well as the immense capacity of tourism companies to adapt to changing markets,” he added.

According to the UNWTO, the growth seen from January to April this year was widely spread with nearly all subregions recording increases in international arrivals of 4 percent or higher. The strongest growth was registered in Asia and the Pacific and the Americas, which both posted a 6-percent growth in tourism arrivals, followed closely by Europe and Africa, which saw a 5-percent increase.

By subregion, Northern Europe, Southern and Mediterranean Europe, North Africa and South Asia were the star performers with an 8-percent expansion.

With regard to source markets, the UNWTO said international tourism expenditure data for the first four months of 2014 indicated that the growth in demand continued to be strong out of emerging markets, particularly from China, the Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia and India.

Demand from advanced markets was likewise strengthening as the economic situation continued to improve gradually, with encouraging growth in expenditure registered from Italy, Australia, South Korea, Netherlands, Norway and Sweden.

According to the UNWTO Confidence Index, prospects remained very positive for the period May-August 2014. Confidence has picked up, particularly among the private sector, and improved further in Europe, the Americas, Asia and the Pacific and the Middle East, it added.

For the full-year 2014, international tourist arrivals are expected to increase by 4 to 4.5 percent, slightly above UNWTO’s long-term forecast of 3.8 percent a year for the period 2010 to 2020.

The Philippines’ Department of Tourism, for its part, said it expected tourist arrivals to reach 6 million this year and 10 million by 2016.

A previous report by the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) showed that the contribution of the travel and tourism sector to the Philippine economy was seen to increase by 3.8 percent to P490.2 billion this year. Last year, travel and tourism contributed P472.3 billion, equivalent to 4.2 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).

Capital investments in the travel and tourism sector are expected to increase by 3.8 percent in 2014 from the P81.3 billion recorded a year ago. An increase of 3.9 percent is expected year-on-year over the next decade to P123.9 billion by 2024.