According to the May 2025 World Tourism Barometer from UN Tourism, over 300 million tourists travelled internationally in the first three months of 2025, about 14 million more than in the same months of 2024. That represents a 5% rise on last year and is 3% more than in pre-pandemic year 2019. The robust performance came despite the sector facing a range of geopolitical and trade tensions, as well as high inflation in travel and tourism services.
The international tourism receipts for Q1 2025 shows solid growth in visitor spending in many destinations:
- Spain, the world’s second largest tourism earner, reported 9% growth in the first two months of 2025 (compared to the same period in 2024), after a remarkable 16% increase in the year 2024.
- Also in Southern Mediterranean Europe, Türkiye (+7%) posted solid results in Q1 2025, as did Greece, Italy and Portugal (all +4%).
- France recorded 6% growth in international tourism receipts, Norway 20% and Denmark 11%, in the first quarter of 2025.
- In Asia and the Pacific, Japan continued to enjoy a surge in receipts in Q1 (+34%), while Nepal (+18%), the Republic of Korea and Mongolia (both +14%) also recorded double-digit growth.
- The United States, the world’s top tourism earner, reported 3% growth in January-March 2025, after a 14% increase in the year 2024.
The latest Panel of Tourism Experts survey points to economic factors including weaker economic growth, high travel costs and the increase in tariffs as the main three challenges that could impact international tourism in 2025. Uncertainty derived from geopolitical and trade tensions are also weighing on travel confidence. Lower consumer confidence was ranked as the fourth main factor affecting tourism this year, while geopolitical risks (aside from ongoing conflicts) ranked fifth.
According to the survey, tourists will continue to seek value for money, but could also travel closer to home or make shorter trips.
Cautious optimism for upcoming Northern Hemisphere summer season
The latest UN Tourism Confidence Index reflects cautious optimism for the period May-August 2025. Some 45% of Panel experts point to better (40%) or much better (5%) prospects for this 4-month period, while 33% foresee similar performance than in the same period of 2024. Some 22% expect tourism performance to be worse.
- Experts highlighted the uncertainty and unpredictability derived from trade tariffs and its potential impact on travel sentiment.
- While one third of survey respondents expect little or no impact from trade tensions on tourism performance, some 25% expect some impact in the near future.
Despite global uncertainty, travel demand is expected to remain resilient. UN Tourism’s January projection of 3% to 5% growth in international arrivals for 2025 remains unchanged.
