The global tourism sector has demonstrated a robust and sustained recovery in 2025, with international tourist arrivals (overnight visitors) increasing by 5% between January and September compared to the previous year. This growth places arrivals 3% above pre-pandemic levels of 2019, indicating a strong rebound despite ongoing challenges such as high inflation in tourism services and fluctuating geopolitical and trade tensions. Over 1.1 billion tourists crossed international borders in the first nine months of the year, representing an increase of approximately 32 million compared to 2024 figures. The third quarter, a peak travel period for the Northern Hemisphere, alone saw a 4% year-on-year increase, underscoring the resilience of global travel demand.

UN Tourism Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili emphasized the sector's positive momentum, highlighting sustained growth in both international arrivals and receipts. He specifically noted the outstanding performance of Africa and Europe.

Africa emerged as the strongest performing region globally, achieving a remarkable 10% increase in arrivals through September. Both North Africa (+11%) and Sub-Saharan Africa (+10%) recorded double-digit growth, driven by a surge in demand for the continent's diverse travel offerings. This performance is particularly crucial for Sub-Saharan Africa, where tourism plays a vital role in economic growth, job creation, and cross-border collaboration.

Europe, the world's largest destination region, also reported solid results, welcoming 625 million international tourists from January to September, a 4% increase over the same period in 2024. Western Europe (+5%) and Southern Mediterranean Europe (+3%) experienced robust growth, while Central and Eastern Europe showed a strong rebound (+8%), although still 11% below 2019 levels. Northern Europe saw a slight dip of 1%, revealing an uneven recovery across its subregions.

The Americas experienced more modest overall growth of 2%, with South America leading at +9% despite a flat third quarter. North America saw a slight decline of 1%, partly due to small drops in arrivals to the United States and Canada, while Central America (+3%) and the Caribbean (+1%) achieved steady gains.

The Middle East’s performance was notable, with arrivals growing 2% compared to 2024, and significantly, standing 33% above 2019 levels, marking the strongest recovery relative to pre-pandemic figures. Asia and the Pacific continued its rebound with an 8% increase in arrivals in the first nine months of 2025, reaching 90% of 2019 numbers. North-East Asia was a particularly strong performer, posting a 17% increase over 2024, though still 12% below 2019 figures.

Several individual destinations reported exceptional growth, including:

• Brazil (+45%)

• Vietnam and Egypt (+21%)

• Ethiopia and Japan (+18%)

• South Africa (+17%)

• Sri Lanka and Mongolia (+16%)

• Morocco (+14%)

These figures demonstrate the dynamism of both emerging and established destinations and suggest evolving patterns in global travel demand. Supporting this tourism surge, international air traffic (measured in RPKs) grew by 7% in the first nine months of 2025, with international air capacity (ASKs) increasing by 6%, according to IATA. Global hotel occupancy remained strong at 68% in September 2025, matching the previous year’s rate.

Visitor spending also showed impressive resilience. Key destinations such as Japan (+21%), Nicaragua (+19%), Egypt (+18%), Mongolia and Morocco (+15%), Latvia (+13%), Brazil (+12%), and France (+9%) recorded strong growth in international tourism receipts through September 2025. Outbound spending from major markets, including the United States (+7% through August), France (+5%), Germany and Italy (both +4%), Spain (+15% through August), and the Republic of Korea (+7%), further underscores the strength of global demand.

For Africa’s tourism professionals, these trends signal a period of unprecedented opportunity. The continent’s double-digit growth in arrivals and strong performance in key markets such as South Africa, Ethiopia, and Morocco indicate its increasing appeal to international travelers. This momentum is expected to stimulate further investment in infrastructure, air connectivity, and hospitality services, positioning Africa as a central player in the evolving global tourism landscape.

As the industry looks forward, the challenge will be to sustain this growth by enhancing the quality of visitor experiences, investing in workforce development, and leveraging digital innovation, aiming to set new benchmarks for resilience and competitiveness in the years to come.