The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) revealed on Tuesday that international tourism is showing signs of recovering at a good pace, with figures for the first quarter of 2023 showing that travelers were double those recorded a year ago.

Data released by the OMT world tourism barometer indicate that international arrivals reached 80% of pre-covid-19 pandemic levels in the first three months.

"Estimates indicate that 235 million tourists made international trips during these months, more than double the number in the same period last year," points out the UNWTO.

In addition, according to the revised 2022 data, last year there were more than 960 million international tourist trips, equivalent to two-thirds (66%) of the pre-pandemic figures.

In this regard, the Middle East recorded the best results as it was the only region to surpass 2019 arrivals (15% more) and the first to reach pre-pandemic figures in a full quarter.

In this context, Europe has reached 90% of pre-pandemic levels thanks to intense intra-regional demand.

Meanwhile, Africa and the American continent have reached 88% and 85%, respectively, of 2019 levels.