Hotel & Tourism SMARTreport #44

AMERICAS & THE CARIBBEAN
FACTS & FIGURES
GROWTH
OF 2% IN
INTERNATIONAL
ARRIVALS FOR
THE AMERICAS
IN FIRST HALF
2019
International tourist arrivals grew 4% from
January to June 2019, compared to the
same period last year, according to the
latest UNWTO World Tourism Barometer.
Growth was led by the Middle East
(+8%) and Asia and the Pacific (+6%).
International arrivals in Europe grew 4%,
while Africa (+3%) and the Americas
(+2%) enjoyed more moderate growth.
So far, the drivers of these results have been
a strong economy, affordable air travel,
increased air connectivity and enhanced
visa facilitation. However, weaker economic
indicators, prolonged uncertainty about
Brexit, trade and technological tensions
and rising geopolitical challenges, have
started to take a toll on business and
consumer confidence, as reflected in a
more cautious UNWTO Confidence Index.
In the Americas (+2%), results improved in
the second quarter after a weak start of
the year. The Caribbean (+11%) benefitted
from strong US demand and continued
to rebound strongly from the impact of
hurricanes Irma and Maria in late 2017, a
challenge which the region unfortunately
faces once again. North America recorded
2% growth, while Central America (+1%)
showed mixed results. In South America,
arrivals were down 5% partly due to a
decline in outbound travel from Argentina
which affected neighbouring destinations.
Outbound travel from the USA, the
world’s second largest spender, remained
solid (+7%), supported by a strong dollar.
In Europe, spending on international
tourism by France (+8%) and Italy (+7%)
was robust, though the United Kingdom
(+3%) and Germany (+2%) reported more
moderate figures.
The UNWTO outlook for international
tourist arrivals projects growth of +2% to
+3% for the Americas, against a global
forecast of +3% to +4%. P r o l o n g e d
uncertainty about Brexit, intensified trade
and technological tensions between
the United States and China, and rising
geopolitical challenges may take a toll
on business and consumer confidence in
certain countries or regions
INTERNATIONAL TOURIST ARRIVALS, BY (SUB)REGION
(1000) Change(%) 2019*
Percentage change over same period of the previous year
Series 2010 2016 2017 2018 17/16 18*/17 Series YTD Q1 Q2 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul
Americas 150,432 201,284 210,814 215,726 4.7 2.3 1.8 -0.4 4.0 0.7 -0.5 -1.3 6.4 2.5 3.2
North America 99,520 131,458 137,115 142,064 4.3 3.6 1.8 -0.6 3.9 0.6 -0.3 -2.0 5.9 2.2 3.7
Carribean 19,521 25,277 26,049 25,806 3.1 -0,9 11.3 15.8 7.5 17.5 16.4 11.2 14.6 8.3 0.0
Central America 7,808 10,593 11,084 10,863 4.6 -2.0 1.4 -2.1 5.7 5.0 -2.1 -8.8 7.9 0.5 8.2
South America 23,583 33,956 36,566 36,993 7.7 1.2 -4.6 -7.9 0.9 -7.8 -9.9 -5.9 1.6 -0.5 1.6
Source: World Tourism Organization (UNWTO)© * Provisional data (Data as collected by UNWTO, September 2019)
See box in page ‘Annex-1’ for explanation of abbreviations and symbols used