Travel Stats

The World Tourism Organization reports the following ten countries as the most visited in 2007 by number of international travelers. When compared to 2006, Ukraine entered the top ten list, surpassing Russia, Austria and Mexico. Most of the top visited countries continue to be on the European continent.

A Little Bit of History

Wealthy people, of course, with abundance of money and leisure time, have always traveled to distant parts of the world to see great buildings and works of art, to learn new languages, to experience new cultures, and to taste different cuisines.

As long ago as the time of the Roman Republic, places such as Baiae were popular coastal resorts for the rich. The word tourism was first used by 1811 and the, the word tourist started to be used by 1840.[17] In 1936 the League of Nations defined foreign tourist as someone travelling abroad for at least twenty-four hours. It successor, the United Nations amended this definition in 1945 by including a maximum stay of six months.

RANK COUNTRY REGIONAL MARKET Intn’l Arrivals(2006) Intn’l Arrivas(2007)

1 France Europe 81.9 million 79.1 million
2 Spain Europe 59.2 million 58.5 million
3 United States North America 56.0 million 51.1 million
4 China Asia 54.7 million 49.6 million
5 Italy Europe 43.7 million 41.1 million
6 United Kingdom Europe 30.7 million 30.7 million ?
7 Germany Europe 24.4 million 23.6 million
8 Ukraine Europe 23.1 million 18.9 million
9 Turkey Europe 22.2 million 18.9 million
10 Mexico North America 21.4 million 21.4 million

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