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Almost Half a Billion International Tourists Visited the EU in 2016

The European Union has always been known as a popular destination for tourists from all over the world. The number of tourist arrivals increases steadily, and the previous year was no exception. In 2016, international tourist arrivals added 4%, so the European Union was visited by nearly 500 million foreigners. That is as much as 40% of the total tourist flow last year. This information is present in the “European Union Short-Term Tourism Trends” report prepared by the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).

Despite numerous challenges, the EU hospitality industry keeps showing incredible resilience and strong growth. It is safe to say that tourism has a significant impact on job creation, economic stability and overall wellbeing of the 28 countries of the European Union. The growth of 4% in international tourist arrivals is higher than the average growth of the metric in the world. In absolute numbers, the EU was visited by 21 million more visitors, reaching the result of 499 international tourists. 2016 became the 7th consecutive year of solid growth for the region. The metric has been growing since the 2009 crisis. If compared to the pre-crisis level of 2018, in 2016 the EU-28 was visited by 107 million more tourists.

According to UNWTO Secretary General Taleb Rifai, tourism is of the key pillars of the EU strategy for growth.

06.04.2017

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