International tourists numbers travelling the world between January and August rose by 5% or 36 million to hit 781 million over the same period in 2013.
Global tourism demand was strong during the northern hemisphere summer high season of June to August with an increase of 4%.
The collective results from the latest UNWTO World Tourism Barometer come in the face of geopolitical challenges and a lingering economic recovery.
The strongest growth was registered in the Americas (+8%), followed by Asia-Pacific (+5%) and Europe (+4%).
North America (+9%) and South Asia (+8%) were the star performers, as well as Southern and Mediterranean Europe, Northern Europe, North-East Asia and South America (all +7%).
UNWTO secretary-general, Taleb Rifai (pictured), said: “International tourism continues to grow above expectations despite rising global challenges.
“Yet, increasing geopolitical uncertainties and the fact that the global economy shows signs of weaker and uneven growth require our attention.”
Commenting on the possible impact of the Ebola outbreak in West Africa on tourism, Rifai said “Although it is too premature to assess the full impact of the outbreak on the tourism sector, at this point we do not expect a major effect on the sector globally.
“International tourism in countries where there is widespread transmission – Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone – represents less than 1% of all international arrivals to African destinations.
“Yet we have to be aware that misperception about the outbreak is affecting the whole of Africa.
“On the upside, and according to information gathered from our African member states and key tour operators and associations in major source markets, there are no significant cancellations to report, despite a certain slowdown in bookings”.
A meeting of the international health regulations emergency committee convened by the World Health Organisation in October “reiterated its recommendation that there should be no general ban on international travel or trade” due to thr Ebola outbreak.
“Most importantly, we need to urgently step up international efforts to support affected countries to contain the outbreak, ensure that WHO recommendations are implemented and provide, at all moments, transparent and timely information to fight misperception and fear, and minimise the spillover effects to the whole region,” said Rifai.