2014, another record year for international tourism. According to the latest UNWTO World Tourism Barometer published on Tuesday 27 January, the tourism sector experienced another record year in 2014. The number of international tourists (overnight visitors) reached 1,138 million in 2014, 51 million more than in 2013. With an increase of 4.7%, this is the fifth consecutive year of above average growth since the 2009 economic crisis. By region, the Americas and Asia and the Pacific registered the strongest growth, while Europe, the Middle East and Africa grew at a slightly more modest pace. As in recent years, the growth in international tourism receipts in 2014 is expected to have followed that of arrivals fairly closely. The 2014 results for international tourism receipts will be released in April 2015, explained UNWTO. The regional results are presented in more detail and are as follows: Europe: With growth of +4%, Europe consolidates its position as the most visited region, with over half of the world's international tourists. It saw an increase of 22 million arrivals in 2014, reaching a total of 588 million. Northern Europe and Southern and Mediterranean Europe led growth (both +7%), while results were more modest in Western Europe (+2%). Arrivals in Central and Eastern Europe (0%) stagnated after three years of strong growth. Asia and the Pacific: The region experienced growth of +5%), an increase of 13 million to 263 million. The best performance was recorded in North-East Asia and South Asia (both +7%). Arrivals in Oceania grew by 6%, while growth slowed down in South-East Asia (+2%) as compared to previous years. The Americas: This region was the best performing region, with growth of 7% (an additional 13 million international tourists and raising the total to 181 million). Growth was driven by North America (+8%), where Mexico posted a double-digit increase, and the Caribbean (+7%). Arrivals to Central America and South America (both +6%) grew at double the rate recorded in 2013 and well above the world average. Middle East: The region shows signs of a rebound (+4%) with good results in most destinations. The region attracted an additional 2 million arrivals, bringing the total to 50 million. Africa: Africa's international tourist numbers grew by an estimated 2%, equivalent to an increase of one million arrivals. The region welcomed 56 million tourists. While arrivals to North Africa were weak (+1%), Sub-Saharan Africa saw international tourist numbers rise by 3% despite the Ebola virus disease outbreak in a few West African countries. Data for Africa and the Middle East should be read with caution as it is based on limited and volatile data. A pickup in expenditure on international tourism from traditional source markets compensated for the slowdown of the large emerging markets, which had been driving tourism growth in previous years. The total number of trips abroad from China is estimated to have increased by 11 million to 109 million in 2014. The Russian Federation (-6%) clearly lost strength in 2014, while Brazil still grew by 2%. Beyond the top ten, some smaller emerging markets saw expenditure grow substantially, with Saudi Arabia, India, the Philippines and Qatar all reporting increases of 30% or over. Expenditure from the United States, the second largest outbound market in the world, grew by 6%. Noteworthy is also the rebound of France (+11%), Italy (+6%) and the United Kingdom (+4%). For 2015, UNWTO forecasts international tourist arrivals to grow between 3% and 4%. By region, growth is expected to be stronger in Asia and the Pacific (+4% to +5%) and the Americas (+4% to +5%), followed by Europe (+3% to +4%). Arrivals are expected to increase by +3% to +5% in Africa and by +2% to +5% in the Middle East. (Isabelle Lamberty)