Upper middle income - International tourism, number of departures

The value for International tourism, number of departures in Upper middle income was 444,865,200 as of 2019. As the graph below shows, over the past 24 years this indicator reached a maximum value of 444,865,200 in 2019 and a minimum value of 168,856,900 in 1996.

Definition: International outbound tourists are the number of departures that people make from their country of usual residence to any other country for any purpose other than a remunerated activity in the country visited. The data on outbound tourists refer to the number of departures, not to the number of people traveling. Thus a person who makes several trips from a country during a given period is counted each time as a new departure.

Source: World Tourism Organization, Yearbook of Tourism Statistics, Compendium of Tourism Statistics and data files.

See also:

Year Value
1995 173,324,600
1996 168,856,900
1997 176,482,000
1998 180,365,900
1999 191,743,100
2000 214,986,500
2001 217,718,300
2002 221,251,800
2003 228,983,500
2004 250,002,200
2005 260,450,500
2006 263,308,100
2007 265,938,000
2008 276,363,700
2009 266,022,200
2010 280,739,200
2011 301,908,400
2012 324,451,900
2013 359,284,800
2014 373,138,100
2015 385,909,900
2016 404,756,500
2017 433,512,500
2018 435,778,600
2019 444,865,200

Development Relevance: Tourism is officially recognized as a directly measurable activity, enabling more accurate analysis and more effective policy. Whereas previously the sector relied mostly on approximations from related areas of measurement (e.g. Balance of Payments statistics), tourism today possesses a range of instruments to track its productive activities and the activities of the consumers that drive them: visitors (both tourists and excursionists). An increasing number of countries have opened up and invested in tourism development, making tourism a key driver of socio-economic progress through export revenues, the creation of jobs and enterprises, and infrastructure development. As an internationally traded service, inbound tourism has become one of the world's major trade categories. For many developing countries it is one of the main sources of foreign exchange income and a major component of exports, creating much needed employment and development opportunities.

Limitations and Exceptions: Tourism can be either domestic or international. The data refers to international tourism, where the traveler's country of residence differs from the visiting country. International tourism consists of inbound (arrival) and outbound (departures) tourism. The data are from the World Tourism Organization (WTO), a United Nations agency. The data on inbound and outbound tourists refer to the number of arrivals and departures, not to the number of people traveling.

Statistical Concept and Methodology: Statistical information on tourism is based mainly on data on arrivals and overnight stays along with balance of payments information. These data do not completely capture the economic phenomenon of tourism or provide the information needed for effective public policies and efficient business operations. Data are needed on the scale and significance of tourism. Information on the role of tourism in national economies is particularly deficient. Although the World Tourism Organization reports progress in harmonizing definitions and measurement, differences in national practices still prevent full comparability. Departures data measure the flows of resident visitors leaving the country of reference. Departures are not necessarily equal to the number of arrivals reported by international destinations for the country of reference. In many countries, the characteristics of trips and visitors are established through questions on the entry/departure cards, in surveys at the borders, at destination (accommodation surveys) or as part of household surveys (for domestic and outbound tourism). The entry/departure cards, or records of entry and departure, captured and reconciled by the immigration authorities are often the basic source for establishing the flows of inbound and outbound visitors. These cards usually collect information on a census basis on name, sex, age, nationality, current address, date of arrival (or departure in the departure card), purpose of trip, main destination visited and length of stay (expected on arrival and actual on departure for inbound visitors; expected on departure and actual on arrival for outbound visitors). Data is collected using one of three methods, or a combination of these to determine the flows of outbound visitors: using an entry/departure card; a specific survey at the border, or observing them from household surveys because they belong to resident households. In the latter case, the information on outbound trips is usually collected at the same time as that on domestic trips.

Aggregation method: Gap-filled total

Periodicity: Annual

Classification

Topic: Private Sector & Trade Indicators

Sub-Topic: Travel & tourism