Growth in tourism grinds to a halt
World tourism growth ground to a halt in 2001, with the number of international tourists falling by 1.3% overall and by 11% in the last four months of the year.
According to the latest figures from the World Tourism Organisation (WTO), international tourist arrivals in 2001 totalled 689 million, compared with 697 million in 2000.
It blamed the terrorist attacks on the USA and the weakening global economy for the drop.
In the first eight months of 2001, it said, there was a 3% growth in worldwide travel, but the last four months of the year revealed an 11% drop in visitor numbers worldwide.
WTO secretary general Francesco Frangialli said: "September, October and November were a disaster for international travel."
During the year, the number of international arrivals in Europe fell by 0.7%. In the UK, the figure was down by almost 7% in the first 11 months of the year. This figure was offset, however, by rises in the eastern Mediterranean and in southern Europe.
The WTO said that it expected to see a return to an increase in international travel by the second half of this year.
l The WTO has set up a Tourism Recovery Committee, which includes ministers from 21 countries, 15 leaders of private sector tourism companies and associations, and representatives of the European Commission. The committee will assess the current crisis in the world tourism industry and offer recovery strategies.
