International travel surged again in 2025 with 1.52 billion tourists taking to the skies – up 60 million on 2024 – and global spending hitting USD$1.9 trillion, highlighting a robust travel recovery.
UN Tourism numbers for 2025 reflect a return to pre-pandemic global travel growth trends, driven by strong demand, solid performance from large source markets and the ongoing Asia-Pacific tourism recovery along with increased air connectivity and visa facilitation.
International travellers spent USD$1.9 trillion globally in 2025, up five per cent on the previous year.
Global travel by region in 2025
Most destinations posted positive results in 2025 with the exception of Asia and the Pacific region. While APAC recorded six per cent year-on-year growth, the region is still nine per cent below 2019 levels.
The APAC region continues to rebound with 331 million arrivals led by North-East Asia with 13 per cent growth, while South Asia recovered to pre-pandemic levels in 2025.
As the world’s largest destination region, Europe recorded 793 million international visitors last year, up four per cent YOY.
The Middle East welcomed a milestone 100 million international visitors for three per cent YOY growth and a whopping 39 per cent up on 2019 levels, while Africa recorded 81 million international visitors in 2025 (+8%).
The Americas saw one per cent YOY growth overall with 218 million international visitors in 2025, led by South America (+7%) and Central America (+5%) due to weaker US results and Hurricane Melissa in the Caribbean.
Destinations with double-digit growth in international arrivals in the last 12 months include Brazil, Egypt, Morocco and Seychelles, while Bhutan, Iceland, Guyana, South Africa and Japan also recorded strong results to November 2025.
2026 outlook
UN Tourism expects international tourism to grow between three and four per cent in 2026 compared to 2025, assuming that APAC continues to recover, global economic conditions remain favourable and geopolitical conflicts do not escalate.
International tourism in 2026 will be driven by consumer demand, enhanced air connectivity and growing outbound travel from emerging markets, along with travel for major events, such as the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics and FIFA World Cup 2026.
UN Tourism Secretary-General Shaikha Alnuwais said: “Demand for travel remained high throughout 2025, despite high inflation in tourism services and uncertainty from geopolitical tensions.”
“We expect this positive trend to continue into 2026 as the global economy is expected to remain steady and destinations still lagging behind pre-pandemic levels fully recover.”
Read the full report here.
KARRYON UNPACKS: With 1.5 billion travellers on the move in 2025, global tourism is not just back, it’s expanding with confidence. For advisors, expect increased demand for long-haul travel, premium experiences and emerging destination itineraries through 2026.
