Tr-perform.docx

1.4 Tourism Performance and Attractions 32. At the global level, international tourism achieved a new record in 2014 with 1.133 billion arrivals, an increase of 4.3 percent compared to 2013. This was the fifth year of consecutive growth since the global financial crisis in 2008. International tourism receipts reached US$1,245 billion worldwide in 2014, up from US$1,197 billion in 2013. Europe remained in 2014 the world’s most visited region. France, the US, Spain and China are the top most visited countries in the world. Travel for holidays, recreation and other forms of leisure accounted for just over half of all international tourist arrivals in 2014. About 14 percent of international tourists reported traveling for business and professional purposes, and another 27 percent travelled for other reasons such as visiting friends and relatives (VFR) or religious reasons. 33. Europe is still the largest source region followed by the Asia Pacific. China has been the top tourism source market since 2012 and increased their tourism expenditure abroad by 27 percent in 2014 reaching a total of US$165 billion. The other top five largest tourism spenders are the US, Germany, the UK and Russia. In 2014, about four out of five worldwide arrivals originated from within the same region (UNWTO 2015). 34. Tourism plays a large and growing role in the world economy. The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) estimates that direct, indirect and induced impacts of tourism generated 10 percent of global GDP, one in eleven jobs and 30 percent of global services exports. International tourism has experienced long term growth. From 1995 to 2010 international tourist arrivals saw average annual growth of 4.1 percent, while for emerging economies the growth rate was 5.7 percent. Emerging economies also saw their share of international tourist arrivals increase from 32 percent to over 50 percent between 1990 and 2015. Table 3. Oceania represents only 1.2 percent of the world’s tourism market share 2005 2010 2013 2014 Market share 2014 (%) World 809 949 1,087 1,133 100 Advanced economies 466 513 585 618 54.5 Emerging economies 343 436 502 515 45.5 By region Africa 34.8 49.5 54 55 4.9 Americas 133.3 150.1 167.5 181.6 16.0 Asia and the Pacific 154 205.4 249.7 264 23.3 North-east Asia 85.9 111.5 127 136.1 12.0 South -east Asia 49 70.5 94.5 97.3 8.6 Oceania 10.9 11.4 12.5 13.2 1.2 South Asia 8.1 12 15.8 17.4 1.5 Europe 453.2 489.4 566.9 580.6 51.2 Middle East 33.7 54.7 48.8 51.8 4.6 Source: UNWTO Barometer October 2015 Arrivals Trends in the Pacific 35. Annual overnight visitor arrivals to Oceania, which also includes primary destinations Australia and New Zealand, grew on average 0.2 percent for the period 1995-2010, the lowest growth of any of 8 the 17 regions identified. In contrast, the Caribbean grew at 0.4 percent and North-east Asia, the fastest growing region, at 4.7 percent. Compared to global average annual growth of 3.9 percent from 2005 to 2014, PIC11 visitor arrivals have grown by 4.5 percent, or close to the UNWTO forecast for emerging economies 2010-2030. Figure 2. Long-term tourism growth has been positive, but performance varies between PICs Source: UNWTO 36. While long-term growth is positive for PIC11s, performance varies between countries and short-term decreases have resulted from political instabilities, natural disasters and global market conditions. The average annual growth rate for the five top destinations from 1995 to 2014 was 5.5 percent, while the othersix only averaged 2.5 percent. PNG saw the strongest growth over the period at 8.5 percent, largely due to growth in the natural resources sector. Fiji’s dramatic drop in arrivals in 2000 was a result of instability following a coup, which led to travel advisories imposed in origin markets. However, Fiji was able to rebound strongly by 2005 through government and private sector support for a series of marketing campaigns, as well as deep airfare and accommodation discounts once order was restored. Another coup in 2006 led to further restrictions by source markets and the temporary diversion of travelers to other destinations.