The number of international tourist arrivals grew by 4.4% to 980 million in 2011, up from 940 million in 2010, the Madrid-based United Nations World Tourism Organisation said in an annual survey.
But while the number of visitors to Europe surged as civil conflicts drove many tourists away from sunspots in the Middle East and North Africa in 2011, the overall recovery that began in 2010 appears to be losing steam, it said.
World tourism had recovered from its worst year in 60 years in 2009, the body's secretary-general Taleb Rifai said, with visitor numbers up 6.7% in 2010. The 2011 figure was within the body's 4.0% to 5.0% forecast.
Now, the organisation forecasts international tourism will grow further in 2012 although at a slower rate.
"Arrivals are expected to increase by 3.0% to 4.0%, reaching the historic one billion mark by the end of the year," it said.
The world's regions had mixed fortunes last year.
Europe recorded an extra 29 million visitors and a total of 503 million – 6% higher than 2010, reflecting the sharpest rise of all the regions.
But Africa, with 50 million visitors overall, logged no growth in tourist arrivals in 2011 after posting gains of 6.0% in the previous year.
"The gain of two million by sub-Saharan destinations (7.0%) was offset by the losses in North Africa" of 12%, the report said.
Visits to the Middle East declined eight percent, with the region losing an estimated 5.0 million international tourist arrivals compared to 2010, for a total of 56 million.
But some destinations in the region, such as Saudi Arabia, Oman and the UAE, continued to sustain steady growth in tourist arrivals.
Asia saw the growth in visitor numbers slow from 13% in 2010 to 6.0% in 2011 after the tsunami that struck Japan in March and the consequent nuclear alert.
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