That's the magic threshold of tourist arrivals UNWTO projects to be reached in 2012.
Glad to see the report does include some mention of the fact that Europe's growth last winter was impacted by the loss of tourism in North Africa and the Middle East. With their graph telling that story better than the report itself, it would have been hard to ignore altogether.
Personally, I believe the impact of that shift was quite strong and not "partially responsible" for Europe's small increase last year. Again, the UNWTO graphs tell the real story.
Do I think that will repeat itself this year? Yes, I think it will continue to be hard for countries like Tunisia and Morocco to bring tourists back to the beach, despite their best efforts.
This year, of course, we'll see more folks decide to stay on dry ground rather than board cruises. We'll also see fewer travelers from Europe to the states as the exchange rate reaches a balance it hasn't seen in some time. Europe will see more American travelers for the same reason.
What does UNWTO recommend? Government facilitation of travel, of course.
Sadly, I see little chance of that happening here in the states, despite our lower than average numbers last year. We are still making potential tourists jump through too many hoops and pay too many fees, despite the need to go in the opposite direction.
Of course, other countries are being none too shy about reciprocating in kind.
