2025 became the best year in the history of global tourism, with revenues reaching €10 trillion 0 6

Global tourism concluded 2025 as the best year in its history, with a total contribution of €10 trillion, accounting for 10.3% of the global economy and 6.7% more than the previous year.

The sector provides jobs for one in three workers on the planet, according to WTTC: "If we were a country, we would be the third-largest economy in the world," emphasized the organization's president and CEO, Gloria Guevara.

More than 1.5 billion people traveled abroad during 2025, 80 million more than in 2024. An average of 219,000 international arrivals was recorded daily, confirming the complete recovery and dynamics of the industry on a global scale.

In Europe, the contribution of tourism reached €2.5 trillion, accounting for 10% of the region's GDP. The growth was 5.1% year-on-year and 11.6% compared to 2019, the last year before the pandemic. "We are in a better position than before the pandemic and better than in 2024," Guevara emphasized.

Record in Spain

Spain also achieved record figures. The country welcomed 96.5 million foreign tourists in 2025, an increase of 2.87% compared to the previous year, according to WTTC estimates.

The total economic impact of tourism, including direct, indirect, and induced spending, amounted to about €260 billion, 4.7% more than in 2024. Overall, the sector already contributes 16% of Spain's GDP and provides employment for 3.2 million people.

Tourism growth was widespread across all countries, with one exception: the USA, where spending by foreign tourists decreased by approximately €16.3 billion over the year.

Gloria Guevara highlighted Spain's role as one of the key pillars of global tourism and as a country that hosts two major industry organizations: the state UN Tourism and WTTC itself.

In this context, she advocated for strengthening public-private partnerships to address the new challenges facing the industry, primarily in the area of international traveler mobility, and called for the removal of legal barriers and excessive formalities when traveling between countries.

WTTC is also looking for premises to house its headquarters in Madrid and is forming an international team of about 35 people, strengthening the role of the Spanish capital as one of the main decision-making centers in global tourism.