Travel, Tourism & Hospitality

In 2023, the total contribution of travel and tourism to the global gross domestic product (GDP) was roughly four percent lower than in 2019, the year before the COVID-19 pandemic. Overall, the contribution of travel and tourism to the global GDP amounted to 9.9 trillion U.S. dollars in 2023. This figure was predicted to reach an estimated 11.1 trillion U.S. dollars in 2024, exceeding pre-pandemic levels.

GDP is the total value of all goods and services produced in a country in a year. It is considered an important indicator of a country's economic strength, and a positive change in GDP is a sign of economic growth. Both before and after the impact of COVID-19, the United States and China were by far the leading travel markets based on the total contribution of travel and tourism to GDP, followed by Germany, the United Kingdom, and Japan. 

In 2023, the number of international tourist arrivals worldwide increased significantly over the previous year but did not catch up yet with pre-pandemic levels. That year, France was the country with the highest number of international tourist arrivals worldwide, welcoming 100 million international visitors. Spain and the United States followed in the ranking in 2023.

Global travel and tourism spending grew by roughly 21.5 percent in 2023 compared to the previous year, but remained below pre-pandemic levels. Overall, the total travel and tourism expenditure worldwide amounted to 6.45 trillion U.S. dollars in 2023. That year, leisure trips accounted for around 80 percent of global travel and tourism spending.

The number of international tourist arrivals worldwide rose sharply in 2023 compared to the previous year across all the most visited destinations in the world. Overall, France was the most visited country by inbound travelers worldwide in 2023, with 100 million international tourist arrivals. Spain, the United States, and Italy followed in the ranking that year.

In 2023, the number of international tourist arrivals worldwide totaled approximately 1.3 billion. While this figure represented a 33 percent annual increase, it remained below the peak in inbound tourist arrivals reported in 2019, the year before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. That said, international tourism receipts worldwide exceeded pre-pandemic levels in 2023, peaking at 1.5 trillion U.S. dollars.

When breaking down the number of international tourist arrivals worldwide by region, Europe has consistently reported the highest volume of inbound travelers, both before and after the impact of the health crisis. In 2023, this region alone accounted for roughly 55 percent of global inbound tourist arrivals. Meanwhile, Asia and the Pacific recorded the second-highest number of inbound tourist arrivals worldwide in 2023.

The market size of the hotel and resort sector worldwide peaked at 1.5 trillion U.S. dollars in 2023. This showed five percent growth over the previous year's figure of 1.43 trillion U.S. dollars. 

What are the leading hotel brands globally?

In 2023, among hotel brands with the highest brand values globally were industry giants like Hilton, Hyatt, and Hampton Inn. Hilton was reported to have a brand value exceeding 11 billion U.S. dollars. However, while Hilton led brand value, Wyndham hotels and resorts claimed the top spot for the hotel company with the largest number of properties worldwide, boasting over nine thousand hotels globally, while Hilton ranked fourth.

Hotel booking behavior of global travelers

In 2023, hotel booking growth worldwide peaked in January and February, surpassing 130 percent - there was also a notable increase in hotel booking growth during the summer months of June and August. As of 2024, Vietnam and China stood out as the countries with the highest share of consumers booking hotels or private accommodation. Meanwhile, countries with the lowest share of hotel and private accommodation bookings were Hungary and Pakistan.  

Revenue of leading online travel agencies (OTAs) worldwide increased significantly in 2023 compared to the previous year, in most cases exceeding the earnings recorded before the COVID-19 pandemic. Overall, Booking Holdings reported the highest figure in 2023, generating roughly 21.4 billion U.S. dollars. That year, Expedia Group and Airbnb followed in the ranking, with revenue of approximately 12.8 billion and 9.9 billion U.S. dollars, respectively.

In April 2024, booking.com - the website of Booking Holdings' leading brand - topped the ranking of the most visited travel and tourism website worldwide, with nearly 560 million visits. That month, tripadvisor.com, aribnb.com, and expedia.com followed on the list. When looking at the traffic breakdown of booking.com by country, the United States accounted for the highest share of website visits in April 2024, ahead of the United Kingdom and Germany.

As estimated by the Statista Mobility Market Insights, online sales channels in the travel and tourism market worldwide generated roughly 70 percent of total revenue in 2023. That year, global revenue of the travel and tourism market, including hotels, package holidays, vacation rentals, and cruises, surpassed 850 billion U.S. dollars.

The total revenue of Airbnb worldwide reached 9.92 billion U.S. dollars in 2023. This was an increase over the previous year's total of 8.4 billion. The decrease in revenue in 2020 can be attributed to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, which caused travel disruption across the globe. When breaking down Airbnb revenue by region, North America, where Airbnb was founded, brought in the most revenue in 2022.

Airbnb is a home sharing economy platform that operates in many countries around the world. The company’s biggest market is in North America where Airbnb’s gross booking value per night was also the highest at approximately 240.29 U.S. dollars in 2022. Meanwhile, Latin America had the cheapest gross booking value per night and travelers there stayed more nights with Airbnb on average than the Asia Pacific region.

The COVID-19 pandemic impacted the travel and tourism industry worldwide, with many countries initiating stay at home orders or travel bans to prevent the spread of the virus. In addition to a decrease in revenue in 2020, the company also experienced a reduction in the number of nights and experiences booked with Airbnb. Bookings fell to a low of under 150 million in 2020 due to these travel restrictions which was less than half the total number of bookings from the previous year. In 2023, Airbnb reported over 448 million booked nights and experiences, a significant increase over the previous year.

The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released a special report in 2018 stating that the world has just over a decade to restrict global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, beyond which the risk of floods, droughts and extreme heat will significantly worsen. With a growing awareness of climate change people are becoming more environmentally conscious. According to the source, as of February 2024, 83 percent of travelers worldwide believe that sustainable travel is important.

In 2023, the Louvre in Paris, France, was the most visited museum worldwide, reporting nearly 8.9 million visits. While attendance at the renowned institution increased sharply compared to the previous year, it did not fully recover yet from the impact of COVID-19. Meanwhile, the Vatican Museums in the Vatican City and the National Museum of China in Beijing followed in the ranking in 2023, each with roughly 6.8 million visits.

The number of international tourist arrivals worldwide grew by roughly 34 percent in 2023 compared to the previous year, showing strong signs of recovery since the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the significant annual increase, global inbound tourist arrivals remained 11 percent lower than in 2019, totaling 1.3 billion in 2023.

The Google Maps mobile app reported the highest number of downloads worldwide among the selected travel apps in 2023. That year, this app recorded nearly 130 million aggregated downloads on iOS and Google Play. The Uber app was the second most downloaded app in the ranking, with roughly 114 million downloads.

Focusing on the online travel agency (OTA) market, while Booking.com topped the ranking of the OTA apps with the highest number of downloads worldwide in 2023, this was not the case in the United States. When looking at the number of downloads of leading OTA apps in the U.S., it was Airbnb that reported the highest figure in 2023, ahead of Expedia and Vrbo.

In 2023, the travel app market's global revenue reached nearly 1.3 billion U.S. dollars and was forecast to increase steadily over the following years. When breaking down the global travel app market's revenue by country, the United States and China ranked by far as the biggest players that year, generating around 540 million and 380 million U.S. dollars, respectively.