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11 surprising places in the world where tourism is growing the fastest

United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) has released its annual report on the state of tourism in the world and these are the 11 fastest growing destinations right now.

Tourism is often a great indicator of the state of the world. A safe country will attract more tourists, while a booming economy will send more; it’s logical. So, in a way, the job of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) is to put a number to the world’s state of being. According to the report, released recently, the industry generates 10 per cent employment worldwide, contributes 10 per cent to the world’s GDP and seven per cent of the world’s exports. And so, even though it might seem that we live in difficult times, the tourism numbers might suggest otherwise. 2017 has been the eighth consecutive year of sustained growth with tourist arrivals growing at 6.8 per cent, the highest since 2009’s global economic crisis. According to the report, a total of 1,323 million tourist arrivals were recorded around the world, a jump of around 84 million from 2016.

Africa and Europe grew faster than the other regions in the world with North Africa and Southern and Mediterranean Europe seeing a high number of tourist arrivals in 2017. Specifically, these are the 11 places where tourism is growing the fastest.