World tourism market could suffer from US recession

If the US economy falls into a deep recession, the entire world tourism market could be affected, according to the World Tourism Organization (WTO).

However, Francesco Frangialli, WTO’s secretary general, added he remained optimistic that the number of international tourist arrivals would rise for the fifth consecutive year, although at a slower rate than last year.

Experts last year were already warning that the growth of international tourist arrivals would slow to around 4 per cent this year from 6 per cent in 2007 and 5.4 per cent in 2006 caused by economic uncertainties sparked by the US sub-prime mortgage crisis.

"The best prediction we can give today is that we do not predict negative growth for 2008, except if the American economy falls into a deep recession followed by the rest of the world," Mr Frangialli told a news conference.

“We are cautiously optimistic for 2008, though we don't think it will be as good a year as 2007," he added.

France was the world's most popular tourist destination in 2007, followed by Spain, although in terms of tourist receipts, the US took the top spot with Spain again second.