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Almost half a billion tourists visit EU in 2016

Xinhua, March 29, 2017 Adjust font size:

The number of international tourist arrivals to the European Union (EU) rose 4 percent to almost 500 million in 2016, the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) announced Wednesday.

The 500 million tourists accounted for almost 40 percent of the total number of international travelers during 2016 and the year marked the 7th consecutive year of sustained growth for the 28-member bloc following the 2009 global financial crisis, according to the preliminary results of the "European Union Short-Term Tourism Trends," a regular monitoring of European tourism carried out by the UNWTO with the help of the European Commission.

"Despite many challenges facing Europe in 2016, tourism has once again shown extraordinary strength and resilience, reinforcing its contribution to economic growth, job creation and social wellbeing in the EU," the UNWTO said in a release.

The UNTWO and the European Commission are also collaborating on a project named "Enhancing the Understanding of European Tourism," which aims to improve the socio-economic knowledge of the tourism sector and improve the competitiveness of the sector in Europe. Endi