Page 30 - TKZN Annual Report 2023/2024
P. 30
Figure 6: International arrivals by region - Year-to-date, January to December 2022
The United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), reported that international tourism increased by 34% in 2023, compared to 2022. (1.28 billion versus 963 million). International tourism was still down 22% below the pre-pandemic levels of 2019. The economic contribution of tourism in 2023 (measured in tourism direct gross domestic product) is estimated at US$ 9.5.3 trillion, above the US$ 7.7 trillion in 2020, but still below the pre-pandemic value of US$ 3.5 trillion.
Figure 7: Tourism visa openness by country, 2023
In ten years, almost a quarter (24%) of the global population moved from requiring traditional visas to more relaxed travel policies. Countries in North America and Northern and Western Europe remain some of the more difficult places for outside visitors to access, yet as the graph above shows, citizens of those regions have the easiest time travelling globally.
28 TOURISM KWAZULU-NATAL ANNUAL REPORT 2023/2024
