The World Tourism Organization is circulating their half-year Tourism Barometer. The report analyses the first quarter performance of the world tourism industry. Statistics show that tourism continues strong. International tourist arrivals in the first four months of 2006 are estimated at 236 million worldwide, or some 10 million more than in the same period of 2005, for a 4.5% increase. The research showed that international tourism receipts in 2005 were US$682 billion, up US$49 billion from the previous year. These include money used to pay for accommodation, food and drink, transport in the country, fuel, entertainment and shopping, etc. The Americas (including the Caribbean) reported a 4.3% increase. The WTO points out that worldwide the increase in international tourist arrivals grew at a faster pace than receipts and attributes this to factors such as the still somewhat fragile recovery of the high-yield business tourism, a comparatively strong increase in short trips, very much stimulated by the attractive fares from low-cost airlines, and a shift towards destinations that offer good value for money.
The WTO points out that one of the main contributors to 2006’s healthy tourism start is the strength of the air transport market. It reports that the emergence of more and more low-cost airlines around the world has been a major contributor to the growth in air transport, which has become accessible to a constantly rising share of the world population. It reports that regardless if oil prices remain high, more efficient aircraft are expected to help keep airfares down and thus stimulate continued growth in demand.
See http://www.dr1.com/travelnews/archive/2006/WTOBarom06_2_en.pdf