Tourism Surges 5% in 2025, Overwhelming Popular Destinations

Tourism has surged beyond prepandemic levels, overwhelming popular destinations worldwide. In 2024, global travel reached 99% of its prepandemic levels, with international tourist arrivals increasing by 5% in the first quarter of 2025 compared to the same period in 2024, and by 3% compared to the first quarter of 2019. This resurgence is driven by "revenge travel," where people are taking long-awaited trips they missed during the pandemic, leading to an influx of tourists in popular sites and vacation spots.

France, a top tourist destination, saw its travel and tourism sector contribute 10.1% more to its national GDP in 2024 than in 2019. The country welcomed 100 million foreign tourists last year, outnumbering its 66 million-person population. Similarly, Spain received about 94 million foreign visitors in 2024, nearly double its population of 49 million. This influx has made destinations busier and more expensive, pushing locals and domestic tourists out of their own regions. For instance, in Spain’s 25 most popular coastal destinations, hotel prices have risen by 23% in the past three years, while foreign tourism increased by 1.94 million people and local tourism dropped by 800,000.

The surge in tourism has led to protests and strikes in various regions. In Barcelona, protesters used water guns to splash tourists, while staff at the Louvre in Paris went on strike in June to protest the crowds, lack of staffing, and working conditions. The museum currently caps daily visitors at 30,000, bringing the maximum yearly attendance to 9.3 million, about 5 million more than it was designed to receive.

Governments are trying to balance the economic benefits of tourism with the needs of their constituents. Italy imposed a five-euro tax on tourists traveling into Venice for day trips to mitigate tourism at the UNESCO World Heritage Site. However, residents of Venice, whose population has shrunk from about 175,000 in the 1970s to below 50,000 last year, said that the entrance fee turned their city into an amusement park and will not do much to discourage tourists. Governments are also tightening regulations on short-term vacation rentals, such as Airbnb, which limit the housing supply and increase residential housing prices.

Despite the challenges, the travel and tourism sector is expected to continue growing. In 2024, travel and tourism represented 10% of the global economy. In Spain, the sector is expected to make up 16%, or $303.3 billion, of the country’s national economy, while in France, it is expected to make up 9.3%, or $319.2 billion, of its output. The World Travel and Tourism Council predicts that international spending will rise to $87.3 billion in 2025.