The global travel industry grew by 24 pc in 2023 to reach USD 1.5 trillion in total value, as traditional markets like North America, Asia Pacific and Western Europe continued to lead in terms of market size. 

These are some of the highlights of Global Travel Market Report 2024, released by Phocuswright, a market research company based in New York. The report also found that the top 15 markets in 2023 closely resembled those of 2019, despite some shifts in their rankings and the addition of a newcomer.

With USD 476 billion in gross bookings in the year, the United States boasts the world’s largest travel market, more than three times the size of China, the second-largest market.

The survey says that Brazil joined the list, displacing Scandinavia as the 15th largest market in 2022. The United Arab Emirates, with total travel gross bookings of USD 44 billion in 2023, accounted for over half of the Middle East’s travel market and occupied the seventh position in the list. 

Russia, another large market saw its total travel bookings reach USD 27 billion, only about three-fourths of its 2019 levels, says Phocuswright, adding that the invasion of Ukraine and subsequent economic sanctions have impeded Russia’s recovery from pandemic downturns, leading to a five-place drop to the 14th position on the list from 2019 to 2023.

It adds that measured in USDs, all top 15 travel markets, except Russia, experienced year-over-year growth in 2023. Among these, five European markets stood out, benefiting from the gains in EUR against the USD.

The report adds that Spain led the pack with a 40 pc growth in USD terms and fellow European nations, Italy, Germany, the United Kingdom and France all achieved double-digit gains.

It adds that the Chinese travel market surged by 72 pc, while Mexico and Brazil were the top markets in Latin America in 2023. India was the 10th largest market and 13th fastest growing market in the last year.