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In 2024, the total contribution of travel and tourism to the global gross domestic product (GDP) amounted to 10.9 trillion U.S. dollars. This figure, which includes the direct, indirect, and induced impact of the global travel and tourism market, represented an increase in total contribution to GDP of 5.8 percent over 2019. As forecast, the total contribution of the travel and tourism sector to the global GDP was expected to reach 11.7 trillion U.S. dollars in 2025.

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, Japan, and the United Kingdom.

In 2023, France was the country with the highest number of international tourist arrivals worldwide, welcoming 100 million international visitors. While the United States reported the third-highest number of inbound tourist arrivals that year, it was the destination with the highest international tourism receipts worldwide, ranking ahead of Spain and the United Kingdom.

Ttal travel and tourism expenditure worldwide amounted to over seven trillion U.S. dollars in 2024. That year, leisure trips accounted for around 80 percent of global travel and tourism spending.

The number of international tourist arrivals grew sharply in 2024 over the previous year, slightly exceeding pre-pandemic levels. Either before or after the impact of COVID-19, France was the most visited country by inbound travelers worldwide, with 102 million international tourist arrivals in 2024. Spain, the United States, and Turkey followed in the ranking that year.

In 2024, the number of international tourist arrivals worldwide totaled almost 1.5 billion, recovering from the impact of COVID-19 and reaching the highest figure reported to date. Meanwhile, international tourism receipts worldwide also hit an all-time high, peaking at over 1.7 billion U.S. dollars in 2024.

When breaking down the number of international tourist arrivals worldwide by region, Europe has consistently reported the highest volume of inbound travelers over the past 20 years. In 2024, this region alone accounted for over 50 percent of global inbound tourist arrivals. That year, Asia and the Pacific recorded the second-highest number of inbound tourist arrivals worldwide.

The market size of the hotel and resort sector worldwide reached 1.7 trillion U.S. dollars in 2024. This showed almost seven percent growth over the previous year's figure of 1.59 trillion U.S. dollars.

What are the leading hotel brands globally?

In 2024, 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 11.5 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.

The combined global revenue of the selected leading online travel agencies (OTAs) increased in 2025 over the previous year. Over the period considered, Booking Holdings reported the highest figure, generating 26.9 billion U.S. dollars in 2025. That year, Expedia Group and Airbnb followed in the ranking, with revenue of around 14.7 billion and 12.2 billion U.S. dollars, respectively.

In 2026, booking.com, the website of Booking Holdings' flagship brand, topped the ranking of the most visited travel and tourism website worldwide. When looking at the traffic breakdown of booking.com by country, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany accounted for the highest share of website visits that year.

As estimated by the ÌÇÐÄÆƽâ°æ Mobility Market ÌÇÐÄÆƽâ°æ, online sales channels in the travel and tourism market worldwide generated over 70 percent of total revenue in 2025. That year, travel and tourism market's global revenue, including hotels, package holidays, vacation rentals, camping, and cruises, reached nearly 990 billion U.S. dollars.

The total revenue of Airbnb reached 12.24 billion U.S. dollars in 2025. This was an increase over the previous year's total of 11.1 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 2025. 

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 amounted to 40.3 billion U.S. dollars. Meanwhile, Latin American travelers stayed more nights with Airbnb on average than those in 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 under 200 million in 2020 due to these travel restrictions. In 2025, Airbnb reported over 533 million booked nights and experiences, a significant increase over the previous year.

As of January 2025, 84 percent of travelers worldwide believed that sustainable travel was important. This represented an increase over the previous year's figure of 83 percent. 

In 2024, the Palace Museum in Beijing, China was the most visited museum worldwide, reporting 17 million visits. This denoted an increase of 17 percent from the previous year for the institution. Meanwhile, the Louvre in Paris was the most visited museum in Europe, with nearly nine million visits in 2024. 

In 2024, the number of international tourist arrivals worldwide recorded a 12.5 percent annual increase. That year, global inbound tourist arrivals caught up with the figure from 2019, reaching 1.47 billion.

Uber reported the highest number of downloads worldwide among travel apps in 2025. That year, this app recorded nearly 148.07 million aggregated downloads on iOS and Google Play. Airbnb was the second most downloaded app in the ranking, with almost 71.66 million downloads.