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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Wednesday, June 19, 2002

Tourism revenue shrinks worldwide after Sept. 11

Associated Press

MADRID — Revenues from international tourism shrank 2.6 percent last year because the Sept. 11 attacks "severely aggravated" the impact of a global economic slowdown, the World Tourism Organization said yesterday.

The United States was among the hardest-hit countries, with its earnings from foreign tourists falling by 11.9 percent and the total number of visitors from abroad dipping 10.6 percent.

Although the global downturn was worse than forecast in the aftermath of the attacks, the organization insisted the tourism sector was "resilient and stable" and would return to growth by the end of this year.

Hundreds of millions of people still traveled abroad last year, but many stayed closer to home and slept in cheaper accommodation, the organization said. The decrease in the number of international tourist trips dropped by only 0.6 percent — from 697 million in 2000 to 692 million last year.

"International tourism experienced a serious crisis but showed again how resilient it can be," said the organization's secretary-general, Francesco Frangialli.

Industry revenue dropped from $475 billion in 2000 to $463 billion last year. But growth was already slowing before Sept. 11 because of the deceleration of global economic expansion, according to the organization.

The terrorist attacks "severely aggravated the situation," Frangialli said.

He added that the "decrease was temporary and somewhat less painful than we had expected," even though on Sept. 17, Frangialli had said industry growth would sink to 1.5 percent in that year. It grew by 7.4 percent in 2000.

France remained the world's No. 1 tourist destination, drawing 76.5 million visitors, 1.2 percent more than 2001, followed by Spain at 49.5 million, up 3.4 percent.

The United States slid from second to third place with foreign visitors decreasing to 45.5 million from 50.9 million in 2000.