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Tourism

Western European Destinations Had Little to No Tourism Growth in 2016

Dan Peltier

Photo Credit: Global destinations had more than 1.2 billion international arrivals in 2016. Pictured are tourists on a Segway tour of central Madrid, Spain.  Skift

Skift Take

Although the term arrival is somewhat ambiguous and different destinations have their own definitions for what counts as an arrival, it's clear some European destinations had a tough year convincing international travelers to visit and Western Europe bore the brunt of that.

More than 620 million tourists visited European destinations last year but some regions, particularly in Western European countries such as France, had virtually no international tourism growth in 2016. The latest tourism data from the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) show 1.23 billion people crossed international borders last year, a 3.9 percent increase over 2015, and a new record for global international travelers. That growth, however, is smaller than the 4.4 percent increase in global travelers in 2015. Some 46 million more tourists (overnight visitors) traveled internationally last year compared to 2015

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