Tourism

[vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]The United Nations expects world tourism (defined by overnight visitors) to grow by up to four percent in 2020 which is around the same rate as in the previous year. Worries about the coronavirus, economy and troubled territories are unlikely to slow things down anytime soon. As usual, the main beneficiaries are going to be France (90 million visitors in 2019) and Spain which enticed almost as many travellers that year. The fastest growing destinations are not in Europe but in the Middle East and Asia Pacific. Travel to the United States dipped in 2019 which was blamed on the strong greenback, visa policies and surprise, surprise – trade tensions. Despite a bout of ethnic cleansing, tourism in Myanmar (aka Burma) shot up by 40 percent – from a lower base, of course. According to The Independent which compiled a top twenty list, Puerto Rico (part of the US but figured separately) was at the number two spot with growth of better than 30 percent. The surprise number three was Iran which is now expected to lose out big-time unless the political climate improves. But surprisingly, the possibility of terrorist attacks seems not to put off the hardened travellers and Tunisia, Egypt and Turkey are all doing well.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text][/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]