What is the annual number of tourists?

The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), the United Nations agency responsible for promoting responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism, estimates that some 1.4 billion international tourist arrivals worldwide were recorded in 2018. This represents an increase of 6% compared to 2017, and more than double the 674 million international arrivals recorded in 1995. However, the COVID-19 pandemic that devastated world travel in 2020 and 2021 will affect these figures.