Tourism has shown notable resilience in recent years, reaffirming its role as a key driver of economic growth even as it operates in an increasingly uncertain environment. Heightened economic and geopolitical uncertainty, including the evolving conflict in the Middle East, together with powerful technological and structural trends are reshaping how tourism is developed, managed and experienced. This chapter provides an overview of recent tourism performance and examines the key trends, challenges and opportunities shaping the outlook for the sector, setting the scene for the policy analysis in the subsequent chapters.
OECD Tourism Trends and Policies 2026
Abstract
Tourism has navigated and been resilient to several shocks and pressures in recent years, reaffirming its importance as a driver of economic growth and development. Its extensive cross‑sectoral footprint places the sector at the centre of national and sub-national policy agendas, from transport, trade and investment to entrepreneurship and regional development. At the same time, heightened economic, geopolitical and environmental uncertainty alongside rapid digital, demographic and social change is exposing structural vulnerabilities and reshaping how tourism is developed, managed and experienced. These dynamics underscore the need for flexible, co-ordinated and whole‑of‑government approaches that reflect tourism’s strategic and cross‑cutting nature, to build a sustainable, resilient and competitive tourism economy.
The evolving conflict in the Middle East has disrupted global travel flows and tested the resilience of tourism. Air services through the strategic aviation hubs in the Gulf region have been severely restricted, with commercial flights significantly lower than prior to the conflict. Energy prices soared, putting pressure on airfares and transport costs, while tightening jet fuel markets and longer flight paths also resulted in flight cancellations (OECD, 2026[1]). Tourism businesses more widely are experiencing higher operating costs, linked with higher energy costs, as well as the increased administrative burden of managing operational changes and flexible itineraries. These dynamics are leading to shifts in visitor flows, with some destinations experiencing declines while others benefit.
The recent signing of the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding is expected to help restore confidence; however, the situation remains fragile at the time of finalising this report. Travel patterns, particularly in the near term, may continue to be shaped by considerations around safety, potential disruptions, and affordability, while any renewed instability could lead to more sustained and widespread impacts. These dynamics present ongoing challenges for businesses and destinations, while also, in some cases, creating potential opportunities as demand shifts.
Strong performance has sustained tourism’s economic role
Strong performance has continued to underpin tourism’s economic value and importance in recent years. Tourism directly accounts for 4.0% of GDP (Figure 1.1), 6.3% of employment (Figure 1.2) and generated 19.3% of service-related exports (Figure 1.3), on average in OECD countries. This reflects the strong recovery and performance in recent years, reinforcing tourism’s role in the economy. While these figures remain slightly below pre-pandemic levels (4.4% of GDP, 6.6% of employment and 22.0% of service exports), they in turn highlight that while tourism is vulnerable to disruption, the sector continues to demonstrate a notable ability to bounce back from shocks and provide economic gains, including in periods of heightened uncertainty. These figures also highlight the relative weight of tourism in OECD economies, compared with sectors such as mining (1.5% of GDP), agriculture1 (1.6%), construction (5.1%) and information and communication (6.1%) (OECD, 2026[2]).
The significant indirect and cross-sectoral impacts of tourism mean the sector can be strategically leveraged to promote economic growth and development. Tourism generates extensive spillovers across a wide range of sectors, including transport, retail and agriculture, amplifying its contribution beyond direct impacts. Tourism demand stimulates local supply chains and supports employment across both urban and rural areas, including for small and medium‑sized enterprises. Moreover, tourism investment can catalyse infrastructure development and improve public services that benefit residents as well as visitors. When effectively integrated into broader policy frameworks, tourism can act as a lever for diversification, regional development, and economic growth.
In percentage for selected OECD countries, latest available year, 2023 or 2024
Note: Tourism direct GDP is the preferred indicator. GDP refers to GVA for Canada, Colombia, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Portugal, Switzerland, Türkiye, United Kingdom and United States.
Only countries with 2023 or 2024 data shown.
Source: OECD Tourism Statistics (Database), Country Profiles.
In percentage for selected OECD countries, latest available year, 2023 or 2024
Note: Only countries with 2023 or 2024 data shown.
Source: OECD Tourism Statistics (Database), Country Profiles.
Tourism receipts as a share of total service exports, 2024
Note: Data for Belgium, Germany, Lithuania, New Zealand, Norway, Türkiye, United Kingdom and United States excludes passenger transport.
Source: OECD Tourism Statistics (Database).
Tourism is a significant contributor to export‑led growth, with international visitor spending a major source of service exports for many economies. Travel exports totalled USD 1.1 trillion in OECD countries in 2024, excluding passenger transport (Table 1.1). This represents an 8.4% increase on 2023 levels in constant prices, with OECD countries accounting for 63.14% of global travel receipts (exports) and 53.0% of global travel expenditures (imports) (compared to 59.0% and 49.6% in 2019). Preliminary estimates by UN Tourism show that globally international tourism receipts reached USD 1.9 trillion in 2025, a 4% increase from 2024 (UN Tourism, 2026[3]).
Almost two thirds of OECD countries recorded a positive travel balance in 2024, led by Spain (USD 73.8 billion), Türkiye (USD 48.9 billion) and Japan (USD 40.4 billion). Japan experienced the highest growth rate in travel exports between 2023 and 2024 (up 37.6% in constant prices), due to strong growth in inbound arrivals (up 47.1%) driven by a depreciation in the yen and recovery in the Chinese market, which has more recently softened. Other countries recording strong performances include Chile (up 29.6% in constant prices), Norway (22.4%) and New Zealand (17.2%). Performance was weaker in Israel (down 58.0%) and Poland (down 9.0%). A breakdown of international travel receipts (exports), expenditure (imports) and the travel balance in OECD member countries and selected partner economies is provided in (Table 1.1).
Tourism exports generate value added through both direct and indirect channels, extending well beyond the initial spending of international visitors. Pre-pandemic estimates indicate that on average across OECD countries, for every 1 USD of direct value added generated by tourism, an additional 61 cents of indirect value added is generated in upstream industries (OECD, 2019[4]), based on data from the OECD Trade in Value Added (TiVA) database, using non-resident expenditure as a proxy for tourism expenditure. This highlights the extensive linkages between tourism and other sectors including agriculture, construction and transport. Tourism exports also facilitate market access for local products and services, supporting export diversification and deeper integration into global value chains. Together, these effects highlight tourism’s broad-based contribution to value added and its role as an engine of economy-wide activity.
Million USD
Note: For more information, please see the country profiles.
1. UN Tourism Data (World Tourism Barometer, Statistical Annex, May 2026)
Source: OECD Tourism Statistics (Database), (IMF, 2026).
These solid economic results are driven in large part by the restoration of international tourism demand, though the pace and extent of the rebound vary across countries. Overall, international tourist arrivals in OECD countries increased by 8.1% in 2024, surpassing pre-pandemic levels to reach 819.5 million tourists (Table 1.2) and representing 56.1% of international tourist arrivals globally (slightly above the pre-pandemic share of 55.0%). This aligns with previous OECD projections (OECD, 2024[5]). This positive trend continued through 2025 (Figure 1.4), with the OECD estimating that international tourist arrivals in OECD countries increased by 3.4%, slightly below the 5% growth in global arrivals (UN Tourism, 2026[3]).
Percentage change in international arrivals from 2024 to 2025, OECD countries
Note: Data for Austria, Belgium, Czechia, Finland, Germany, Greece, Latvia, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Sweden and Switzerland is from supply side surveys.
Data for France is an estimate by Atout France.
Data for Greece, Portugal and Switzerland are estimates by OECD.
Source: OECD Tourism Statistics (Database).
Note: For more information, please see country profiles.
Tourists: International tourist arrivals (excluding same-day visitors).
Visitors: International visitor arrivals (including same-day visitors).
1. Data from supply side surveys.
2. Atout France estimate.
3. 2025 data is an OECD estimate.
4. 2025 data is from Eurostat Monthly Arrivals (Database)
5. UN Tourism Data (World Tourism Barometer, Statistical Annex, May 2026)
Source: OECD Tourism Statistics (Database).
Growth continued into the first quarter of 2026, before being disrupted by the evolving conflict in the Middle East. Across the European Union, overnight stays in tourist accommodation were up 3.4% on 2025 levels in the January-March period (Eurostat, 2026[6]). Globally, travel demand remained similarly resilient at the start of the year, with international arrivals up 2.5% year-on-year in January and February. However, the escalation of the Middle East conflicted has impacted performance since March. As a result, UN Tourism expects international arrivals growth to fall 1 to 2 percentage points below its initial forecast of 3-4% for 2026, depending on the conflict’s duration and scope (UN Tourism, 2026[3]).
While international arrivals in half of OECD countries had recovered or surpassed pre-pandemic levels by the end of 2025, arrivals to others are still lagging. Four countries recorded double-digit growth in 2025 to reach record levels of inbound arrivals, led by Finland (up 16.5%), Japan (15.8%), Korea (15.7%) and Norway (12.5%). This has been aided by expanded connectivity and outbound travel from the People’s Republic of China in the case of Korea and Japan, building on a strong recovery in 2024 (48.4% and 47.1% respectively). Meanwhile, international tourist arrivals fell in four countries in 2025 and have yet to recover to pre-pandemic levels: Canada (down 0.6%), Germany (0.8%), Ireland (2.8%) and the United States (5.5%). Inbound tourism in Israel has also been significantly impacted by the evolving conflict in the Middle East, and arrivals remain significantly down on pre-pandemic levels (70.8%).
Geopolitical tensions are increasingly shaping tourism dynamics, influencing tourist flows and weighing on the broader tourism economy. Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine has disrupted regional travel patterns, constraining air connectivity and dampening traveller confidence in parts of Europe and neighbouring regions – for example inbound tourism to Estonia remained 16.0% down on pre-pandemic levels in 2025. Similarly, the evolving conflict in the Middle East has contributed to heightened uncertainty, contributing to rising energy prices and affecting travel demand, insurance costs and route planning. These dynamics can lead to shifts in visitor flows, with some destinations experiencing declines while others benefit from shifting travel demand. More broadly, geopolitical instability highlights the sector’s vulnerability to external shocks and reinforces need for resilience, risk management, and market diversification strategies.
While international demand has shifted in certain countries, the most popular international destinations remain unchanged. According to UN Tourism, France was the most visited country in the world in 2024, counting 102.0 million tourists, followed by Spain with 93.8 million and the United States with 72.4 million. Türkiye welcomed 60.6 million tourists followed by Italy with 57.7 million. Together, the top five inbound markets accounted for just over a quarter (26.4%) of global international tourist arrivals in 2024 (UN Tourism, 2026[3]). A breakdown of international tourist arrivals to OECD member countries and selected partner economies is provided in Table 1.2.
The importance of domestic tourism varies across countries but remains a stable source of economic benefits, particularly during periods of uncertainty. As the pandemic showed, domestic tourism can help sustain businesses, support employment, and maintain activity across tourism-related sectors. Drawing on this experience, some countries impacted by the conflict in the Middle East have looked to stimulate domestic demand. Domestic tourism is the mainstay of the sector in most OECD countries, with residents responsible for 78.3% of tourism expenditure on average in OECD countries in 2024 or latest year available (Figure 1.5). However, the share is significantly lower in countries like Türkiye (27%) and Hungary (28%), leaving the tourism sector more exposed to drops in inbound visitors. Figure 1.5 provides a breakdown of internal tourism consumption (domestic and inbound) for selected OECD member countries.
As a percentage of internal tourism expenditure, latest available year, 2023 or 2024
Note: Only countries with 2023 and 2024 data shown.
Data for Ireland contains no estimates of non-monetary consumption and does not place a value on vacation accommodation on own account.
Source: OECD Tourism Statistics (Database).
Looking ahead, short-term challenges are impacting tourism, although demand is expected to remain strong over the longer run. The outlook remains uncertain as tourism navigates a complex and dynamic risk environment, influenced by evolving geopolitical developments, including in the Middle East, as well as broader pressures on the sector. Over the longer term, while there is growing policy momentum to manage tourism more sustainably, a key challenge will be to keep pace with fast-evolving technological development. Advances in digital tools and Artificial Intelligence are already reshaping tourism systems, business models and visitor behaviour, requiring continued adaptation across the sector.
A recent survey of OECD and partner countries indicates broadly positive performance and sentiment. Around half of responding countries report tourism performance moderately above 2025 levels, and more than three quarters expect tourism performance to exceed 2025 levels by the end of 2026. This performance is in line with expectations at the start of 2026 for around half of countries. While high costs and geopolitical factors are key constraints, some destinations report benefitting from shifts towards closer, more accessible and perceived safer locations. Demand remains broadly resilient, though economic and geopolitical factors are influencing traveller behaviour, particularly on where and when to travel. Destination reputation, particularly in terms of safety, continues to play an important role in sustaining consumer confidence. Looking ahead, the main risks for 2026 are geopolitical instability (80% of respondents), persistent price pressures (75%), connectivity disruptions (45%) and economic slowdown in source markets (40%). Meanwhile, sentiment for 2027 remains positive overall.
The evolving Middle East conflict has put the global economy under pressure, with knock-on consequences for tourism, which typically tracks broader economic conditions. OECD projections from early June 2026 indicate that the economic consequences are likely to be felt for some time, even after its resolution (OECD, 2026[1]). Assuming energy prices ease from mid-2026 onward, OECD forecasts that global economic growth will slow to 2.8% in 2026 (down from 3.4% in 2025), before recovering to 3.1% in 2027. Annual consumer price inflation in the G20 countries is expected to rise to 4.0% in 2026 from 3.4% in 2025, before easing to 3.1% in 2027 as energy and food price pressures gradually fade. However, prolonged disruptions could lead to increasing economic and social costs over time.
While the overall impact on tourism has been uneven and relatively contained outside of the countries directly affected, the conflict has disrupted travel flows. Although air services through key regional hubs have partially resumed, airlines have adjusted routes and schedules. Travel to and from the Middle East and destinations that rely on the aviation transit hubs in the Gulf have been most affected. At the same time, higher energy costs are raising transport and other operating costs, while considerations around safety, affordability and potential cancellations may weigh on traveller confidence.
In those countries directly affected by the conflict, the impacts have been more pronounced, with Gulf countries recording sharp declines in international visitor arrivals. These countries have also seen wider impacts from damage to tourism infrastructure and disruptions to local supply chains. While travel advisories remain necessary to ensure traveller safety, they can also have wider unintended consequences by dampening demand in neighbouring destinations and delaying recovery, particularly if not updated in a timely manner as conditions evolve.
Elsewhere, evidence suggests travellers have changed routes and destinations rather than cancelling trips outright. Businesses report operational changes alongside shifts in booking behaviours including shorter booking windows and greater demand for flexibility, while also highlighting the need for co-ordinated responses and public reassurance, including on fuel supply. In response, some destinations are diversifying away from ‘higher-risk’ travel corridors and strengthening engagement with alternative source markets, particularly domestic and neighbouring countries. At the same time, concerns around overreliance on specific aviation hubs and carriers are bringing greater attention to the need for more diversified and resilient air connectivity.
The recent signing of the Islamabad Memorandum is expected to help restore confidence; however, the situation remains fragile. Evolving travel patterns and risk considerations are already leading to shifts in visitor flows, with some destinations experiencing declines while others benefit. These dynamics are also shaping forward planning, as airlines, tour operators and other tourism providers design their programmes for 2027 and beyond. Any renewed instability could lead to more sustained and widespread impacts, including travel demand potentially softening into 2027 amid cost pressures, connectivity constraints, safety considerations and heightened uncertainty. While tourism demand has so far shown resilience despite recent inflationary pressures, which have seen prices for restaurants and hotels rise by 46.1% compared with 34.9% across the economy between 2020 and 2024 (OECD, 2026[7]), further price pressures could begin to weigh more notably on tourism spending over time.
In this context, travel patterns may continue to be shaped by evolving perceptions of safety, possible disruption, and affordability, at least in the near term. These dynamics present challenges for businesses and destinations, while also, in some cases, creating potential opportunities as demand adjusts. This could contribute to a shift toward more affordable destinations, shorter stays and lower-cost travel options, with implications for overall expenditure levels and the distribution and quality of tourism-related value added. Changes in spending patterns could place pressure on margins, shift demand between higher- and lower-value segments and influence the capacity of destinations and businesses to generate and retain economic value. More broadly, these dynamics underscore tourism’s sensitivity to external shocks and interconnected risks, even as the sector continues to demonstrate resilience, supported by accumulated experience and strengthened risk management practices to adapt, recover and thrive.
Digitalisation meanwhile is a cross‑cutting transformation reshaping the tourism system, from business models and service delivery to visitor management and destination planning. The increasingly use of digital tools and data‑driven approaches, including Artificial Intelligence, is enabling more personalised services, optimising operations, and supporting real‑time management of visitor flows. It is also enhancing the evidence base for decision making, through improved data collection, integration and forecasting capabilities. These shifts are lowering barriers to entry for entrepreneurs, stimulating new business models and driving greater connectivity across the tourism value chain. At the same time, the pace of change highlights the need for forward‑looking policies to support adoption, strengthen digital skills, and ensure that digital transformation contributes to sustainable tourism development.
Recent OECD work for the G7 and APEC highlights the significant opportunities that AI developments offer to boost innovation and strengthen resilience across the sector (OECD, 2024[8]) (OECD, forthcoming, 2026[9]). At the same time, these developments raise important policy challenges related to skills, data governance, and the responsible use of technology, underscoring the need for coherent policy frameworks and supports for SMEs to ensure digital transformation promotes sustainable tourism development. (OECD, 2024[8]). A recent OECD survey has highlighted that while SME adoption of AI tools is increasing rapidly, with sustained uptake of off-the-shelf AI applications, strategic, targeted and secure integration within business operations remains uneven (OECD, 2026[10]) Governments have a key role to play in creating enabling conditions that help tourism businesses of all sizes harness the benefits of AI, other new technologies and the digital transformation while managing emerging risks.
Environmental pressures including water scarcity, land‑use constraints and heightened exposure to natural hazards are prompting countries to reassess traditional tourism development models. At the same time, the increasing frequency and intensity of extreme weather events are adding further complexity, reinforcing the need for more resilient and adaptive tourism systems. Extreme heat, wildfires, floods and severe storms are already affecting destinations, damaging infrastructure and influencing travel behaviour. As highlighted in Chapter 4, the sector’s reliance on natural assets and safe, predictable conditions means that proactive policies and targeted investments will be needed to prepare the sector for the growing scale of extreme weather impacts. Strengthening preparedness and adaptative capacity will be essential to safeguard tourism assets, sustain visitor confidence, and support the long‑term resilience and sustainability of the sector.
Other structural trends reshaping tourism include rapid income growth and expansion of the middle class in emerging economies, which are increasingly important drivers of demand. By 2030, the global middle class is projected to reach around 5 billion people, up from about 4 billion in the early 2020s (Kharas, 2026[11]). This expanding consumer base is expected to significantly boost tourism demand (World Economic Forum, 2025[12]), building on major source markets such as China and the fast‑growing Indian market. Realising this opportunity will require adapting tourism offers to evolving preferences while managing associated social and environmental impacts.
In addition to emerging markets, evolving travel preferences among younger generations are expected to further shape tourism demand and drive diversification of products. By 2030, Millennials and Generation Z are projected to account for more than half of global travellers, with spending patterns increasingly oriented towards experiences rather than goods (World Economic Forum, 2025[12]). This shift is creating opportunities in experience‑based segments such as cultural and music events, and sports tourism, with the latter estimated to have generated USD 609 billion globally in 2023 and expected to grow by 16% annually from 2024 to 2030 (UN Tourism, 2024[13]). While these trends offer significant potential to enhance value creation and extend tourism benefits, they also reinforce the need for destinations to adapt offerings and manage impacts to ensure long‑term sustainability.
The growth in demand risks putting pressure on destinations, including on infrastructure, natural resources and local communities, and may exacerbate spatial and seasonal imbalances. However, there is increasing recognition of these challenges and progress is being made to manage tourism more sustainably. As Chapter 3 highlights, efforts to enhance the social benefits of tourism are gaining momentum, with a stronger focus on balanced tourism development and better community outcomes. Sustaining this progress will be key to aligning tourism development with broader sustainability objectives and supporting long‑term value creation.
Co‑ordinated policy action across all levels of government is needed to navigate these complex trends in an increasingly uncertain environment. More integrated, flexible and anticipatory approaches are required to address structural weaknesses in tourism development models and tackle imbalances in the distribution of tourism activity and benefits. This includes enabling the sector to harness opportunities from digitalisation and Artificial Intelligence, accelerating action to mitigate and adapt to environmental change, and ensuring that the economic and wider benefits of tourism are more evenly shared across local businesses, workers and communities. These issues are further discussed in Chapter 2.
The economic outcomes of tourism also have important social and environmental implications, encompassing both benefits and costs. While tourism can support community well‑being, cultural exchange, and the conservation of natural and cultural heritage, growth in tourism can also create tensions between visitors and local communities, particularly where value added is not well captured locally or where demand is highly concentrated geographically or seasonally. In addition, tourism is resource‑intensive and a contributor to emissions and waste, with potential impacts on ecosystems and environmental quality. Building on ongoing OECD work to develop a core set of indicators to better measure tourism’s wider impacts beyond the economy and support more balanced and evidence‑based policymaking across countries, this section presents evidence on several key indicators.
Seasonality is a common structural feature of tourism and key issue for many national and destination-level tourism strategies and programmes. High concentration of tourism demand in specific periods of the year can strain infrastructure and communities during peak periods, while leading to underused capacity and less stable economic benefits in off‑peak periods. In addition to being a sustainability issue, seasonality has implications for resilience because it concentrates risks and pressures unevenly over time and a strong reliance on short peak periods makes tourism economies more vulnerable to shocks.
Across OECD countries, around 40% of tourist nights are concentrated in the top three months with similar trends for domestic and inbound tourism. However, the data reveal significant cross-country differences. In Norway (59%), Greece (52%), Sweden (51%) and Slovenia (50%), more than half of inbound tourist nights are concentrated in just three months, which may reflect tourism models strongly linked with climate and nature-based tourism patterns (Figure 1.6). Less seasonal destinations such as Japan (28%), Mexico (29%), United States (29%), Colombia (29%) and Korea (30%) show more evenly distributed demand, with less than 30% of nights in peak months. This suggests a more diversified and less weather-dependent tourism offer, supported by year-round products such as business travel, urban tourism and cultural activities, and indicates that these countries benefit from more stable economic activity and employment throughout the year. However, in the absence of more granular sub-national data this data may mask important destination-level variations, which may be both temporal and spatial in nature.
Tourist nights in top three months as a share of total tourist nights, 2024
Source: OECD Tourism Statistics (Database).
Spatial concentration is also a common structural feature of tourism, which can create significant economic, social, and environmental challenges. The clustering of visitors in a limited number of destinations can strain infrastructure, degrade natural and cultural assets, and reduce residents’ quality of life, while less-visited regions miss out on tourism benefits. This imbalance also increases vulnerability, as reliance on a few key destinations makes the tourism sector more exposed to external shocks and limits overall sustainability and resilience.
Across OECD countries, tourism demand is spatially concentrated, with around 47% of tourist nights concentrated in 10% of regions with data available (Figure 1.7). In many countries, a small number of regions account for a large share of total guest nights, typically major cities, coastal areas, or well-established tourist hubs. This reflects strong destination attractiveness but also indicates imbalanced spatial distribution. In contrast, a long tail of regions receives relatively few visitors, pointing to underutilised tourism potential in less prominent areas. This underscores a key policy challenge for countries: managing pressure in high-demand regions while promoting dispersion to less-visited areas, to improve sustainability, reduce overcrowding, and support regional economic development.
The distribution of tourist nights varies widely within countries, highlighting opportunities to spread the sector’s benefits more evenly. In 2024, across the OECD, the region with the highest number of tourist nights recorded on average six times more than the least visited region in terms of overnights. These disparities were particularly pronounced in countries like Spain and France. In Spain the most visited region (Canary Islands) had 743 times more nights as the least visited (Melilla), while in France the difference was 501 times (Île-de-France which includes Paris and the remote overseas territory of La Mayotte in the Indian Ocean respectively). In Japan, Southern-Kanto, which is home to Tokyo recorded the highest number of tourist nights among OECD regions, with 170 million, followed by the Kansai region which includes Kyoto and Okinawa, at 121 million. By contrast, Shikoku recorded the lowest number of nights in Japan, with fewer than one-tenth of Southern-Kanto’s total, although still reaching a substantial 15 million nights. These patterns demonstrate a strong concentration of tourism in specific destinations, which if not well managed can lead to pressure on those areas. At the same time, they point to opportunities for developing tourism in less-visited regions and for more evenly distributing the economic returns of the sector across countries.
Tourist nights at TL2 level (log scale), 2024
Note: Data for Iceland is from 2023.
Source: OECD Regional Statistics - Tourism (Database).
Length of stay is also an important tourism metric because it directly influences expenditure patterns, resource use, and the distribution of tourism activity. Data show clear differences between domestic and inbound tourism, as well as notable variation across OECD countries. In most countries, inbound visitors stay longer than domestic tourists, reflecting higher travel costs and longer distances. The case of Australia (35.7 days, nearly five times more than the next highest country) highlights this pattern at the extreme, given its distance from many source markets encourages longer stays, while also being a popular destination for international students and its working holiday visa programme. Domestic tourism, while characterised by shorter stays, provides more frequent and stable demand, with less variation across countries falling between 2-4 nights with the notable exception of Türkiye (7.2 nights), Poland (4.5) and France (4.3). Across OECD countries, the average length of stay for international tourists was 4.8 nights in 2024, compared to 3.0 nights for domestic travellers, the inbound length of stay falls to 3.9 nights when Australia is excluded while the domestic length of stay remains unchanged (Figure 1.8).
These length of stay differences have important implications for the economic value, sustainability, and resilience of tourism. One possible implication is that inbound tourism may generate higher value per trip, even if volumes are lower, while domestic tourism may contribute to stable, year‑round demand, even with lower spend per trip. Data on visitor spend would be needed to validate this.
Average number of nights per trip, 2024
Note: For readability the y-axis of the chart has been limited to 10. Inbound length of stay for Australia is 35.7. Data for domestic length of stay for Israel is from 2023.
Only countries with arrivals and nights data from the same source.
Data for domestic length of stay for Austria, Czechia, Greece, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Portugal, Slovak Republic, Sweden and Switzerland is from supply side surveys.
Data for inbound length of stay for Austria, Belgium, Czechia, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland and Türkiye.
Data for Australia and United States include short-term international students (less than 1 year).
Source: OECD Tourism Statistics (Database).
Tourism is closely linked to the natural environment, which underpins destination attractiveness while the sector itself is also resource-intensive. At the same time, tourism is a significant driver of transport emissions, particularly from passenger aviation. These emissions are unevenly distributed and closely linked to income levels, geography and travel patterns, with higher emissions associated with long‑haul and high‑intensity travel markets. As tourism demand continues to grow, especially internationally, these pressures are likely to increase, reinforcing the need to accelerate the transition to more sustainable aviation and integrate climate considerations into tourism development pathways.
Experimental data reveals novel insights into the significant contribution of passenger aviation to emissions across OECD countries. This data records the carbon dioxide emissions related to the combustion of jet fuel and aviation gasoline sold in a given country by estimating the emissions generated by all flights taking off from that country (Clarke et al., 2022[14]). This varies widely across countries and destinations, for example domestic passenger aviation in Australia emits 7.9 million tonnes, while the equivalent figure in Slovenia is 21 tonnes (Figure 1.9). These disparities underline that emissions are highly dependent on country-specific factors. Australia’s large geographic size and well-developed air transport infrastructure results in a high volume of domestic flights, whereas Slovenia’s smaller size and population limit demand for domestic flights. Despite these considerations, such data is useful to provide a snapshot of current emissions to benchmark across OECD countries.
Tonnes of carbon dioxide, 2024
Note: For readability the x-axis is limited to 25 million. Emissions from international aviation is 31.7 million tonnes for the United Kingdom and 68 million tonnes for the United States. Emissions from domestic aviation is 132 million tonnes for the United States.
Territory-based emissions for a given country correspond to the emissions generated by all flights taking off from this country during the reference period (Clarke et al., 2022[14]).
Source: OECD Air transport emissions (experimental) (Database).
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[13] UN Tourism (2024), 3rd World Sports Tourism Congress, https://www.untourism.int/events/3rd-world-sports-tourism-congress#:~:text=Sports%20Tourism%20is%20one%20of,16%25%20between%202024%20and%202030.
[12] World Economic Forum (2025), Travel and Tourism at a Turning Point: Principles for Transformative Growth, https://reports.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Travel_and_Tourism_at_a_Turning_Point_2025.pdf.
← 1. Including forestry and fishing