The strong recovery of the tourism sector in 2010 is evidence of its resilience and capacity for rapid recovery. Nonetheless, recovery came at different speeds. Emerging economies proved to be the primary drivers of the international tourism rebound, posting an average growth in
international tourist arrivals of around 8% in 2010 whereas advanced economies recovered at a much slower pace of around 5%. A similar trend can be seen in tourism receipts and expenditure. Growth in expenditure continued to be led by emerging markets in 2010 – major growth rates came from China (+25%), the Russian Federation (+27%) or Brazil (+51%). The multi-speed nature of tourism recovery widely reflected the broader economic situation and the dynamism of emerging economies.