ANKARA, May 21 — International tourism reached 97 per cent of its pre-pandemic level in the first quarter of this year, the UN Tourism said today.

More than 285 million tourists travelled internationally in January-March, rising 20 per cent from the previous year, it said.

While export revenues from tourism remained at 97 per cent, direct tourism GDP reached the same levels as in 2019, Anadolu Agency reported.

The UN specialised agency for tourism expects international tourism to fully recover in 2024 with arrivals exceeding 2 per cent of 2019 levels.

Europe, the world’s largest destination region, surpassed pre-virus levels in a quarter for the first time, up 1 per cent to 120 million international tourists in the first three months of the year, backed by robust intra-regional demand.

The Middle East saw the strongest relative growth, with international arrivals exceeding by 36 per cent pre-pandemic levels this January-March, Anadolu reported.

Contrary to other regions, Asia and the Pacific has not fully recovered yet despite a strong growth in international tourist figure. Arrivals reached 82 per cent of its 2019 first-quarter level, it added. — Bernama-Anadolu