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October 26, 2018 www.intellinews.com I Page 9
The three South Caucasus republics are particu- larly popular with Iranian travellers, especially around the Nowruz Persian (aka Navrus)
new year holiday, when tens of thousands of Iranians travel abroad to celebrate in a more relaxed atmosphere.
Meanwhile, in Central Asia, Tajikistan has also experienced a dramatic rise in tourist revenues (the UNWTO doesn’t have data for the number of visitors to the country). Sadly, this could change after the brutal attack on a group of cyclists in July this year. The attack on the scenic Pamir highway claimed the lives of two Americans
on a round-the-world bike trip, a Dutch psychologist and a Swiss man, and left three more people injured. Video footage shows the cyclists being ploughed into and attacked with knives and guns. IS claimed responsibility for the attack on July 30, though this has later been disputed by the Tajik authorities.
Apart from the terrible blow struck to the Tajik year of tourism, the perception of posed danger to westerners and other foreigners has the potential to impact on neighbouring Central Asian countries. Both Tajikistan and neighbouring Kyrgyzstan have since said they will set up dedicated tourist police forces.
Kyrgyzstan was another country that experi- enced a substantial hike in visitor spend
between 2010 and 2017, along with Romania, Moldova, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Serbia, Armenia, Macedonia and Estonia. All these countries saw the money spent by tourists increase
by over 50%.
This comes in the context of rapid international growth. Globally, 2017 saw the highest growth in international tourist arrivals in seven years, as destinations that had suffered from security challenges in recent years recovered, the UNWTO report said. On top of that, “Growth was fuelled by the global economic upswing, resulting in strong outbound demand from virtually all source markets.”
Overall international tourist arrivals grew 7.0% in 2017, which was the highest increase since the 2009 global economic crisis, outstripping the UNWTO’s long-term forecast of 3.8% per year for the period 2010 to 2020. During the year, international tourism receipts increased by a real 4.9% (adjusted for exchange rate fluctuations and inflation) to reach $1.3 trillion.
“Destinations in Central and Eastern Europe ... posted solid growth with a few exceptions, thanks to increased outbound demand from Russia,” said the report. In fact, with Russian tourists typically spending generously, “The recovery of the Russian outbound market ... benefitted many destinations,” it added.