STUDY UPON THE POSITIONS OF EUROPE IN THE WORLD TOURISM FLOWS

Abstract

The paper aimed to analyze Europe position and contribution to the world main tourism flows regarding tourist arrivals, tourism receipts and expenditure based on UNWTO Statistical data for the period 2009-2011 using the index, share and comparison methods. In 2011, Europe registered 504 million international tourists and USD 263.4 Million tourism receipts. Its share in the global tourism market is 51.27 % for international arrivals and 44.90 % for tourism earnings. The EU-27 contributed by 72.75 % to the Europe and by 37.30 % to the world tourist arrivals and also by 81.46 % to the Europe and 36.57 % to the world receipts. France, Spain and Italy are among the top 10 tourism destinations in the word. In 2011, they recorded 182.3 international tourist arrivals and USD 157.4 Million tourism receipts. Germany is on the top position as spender on tourism, followed by United Kingdom, France, Russian Federation and Italy. As a conclusion, Europe is the world leader in tourism and will continue to contribute to the development of global tourism in the next future.