Fastest-growing region
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— a year, —
— → — arrivals
From —, — was the fastest-growing region, with international arrivals rising — a year on average. Among countries that started with at least 1 million arrivals, — grew fastest, at — a year.
Growth is the average yearly change (compound annual growth rate) in inbound overnight visitors. Both periods end in 2019, the last year before the pandemic.
— a year, —
— → — arrivals
— a year, —
— → — arrivals
— a year, —
— → — arrivals
Top 15 by average yearly growth, among countries with at least 1 million arrivals at the start of the period. Smaller places can post huge rates from a tiny base, so they are listed in the table below but left out of this ranking.
Countries with more World Heritage sites tend to draw more visitors. In 2019 the median country with 21 or more sites received — international arrivals, against — for countries with none. New sites tell a different story: sites inscribed from 2010 to 2019 show — link to tourism growth over the same decade (correlation —).
— cultural · — natural · — mixed · — in danger
Correlation between sites inscribed by 2019 and 2019 arrivals, on a log scale, across — countries. 1 would be a perfect match.
— arrivals per site in 2019, across — sites. Among countries with at least 5 sites.
Each dot is a country: sites inscribed by 2019 across, 2019 arrivals up (log scale). The line is the best fit. Hover a dot for details.
Each dot is a country with at least 1 million arrivals in 2009: sites added from 2010 to 2019 across, average yearly growth in arrivals 2009–2019 up. The line is the best fit.
Countries grouped by World Heritage sites inscribed by 2019.
Countries with at least 5 sites. High numbers mean heritage sits inside a busy tourism market. Low numbers point to sites that few international visitors reach.
| Most per site | Sites | Arrivals per site |
|---|
| Fewest per site | Sites | Arrivals per site |
|---|
International arrivals per year, 1995–2020. Add any country or region; click a chip to remove it.
Sorted by average yearly growth. Uses the region picked above. Greyed rows started below 1 million arrivals.
| # | Country | Region | Start year arrivals | 2019 arrivals | Yearly growth |
|---|
World Bank, World Development Indicators: International tourism, number of arrivals (ST.INT.ARVL), last updated 8 October 2026. Arrivals count overnight visitors who travel to a country other than their usual residence. Original figures come from UN Tourism's Yearbook of Tourism Statistics.
Regions are the World Bank's seven geographic groups. Middle East & North Africa has no regional total for 1995, so it is missing from the 1995–2019 view. Countries need a figure in both the start year and 2019 to be ranked. 2020 is shown in the comparison chart but left out of growth rates: the pandemic cut arrivals sharply and only 132 places reported that year.
World Heritage sites come from the UNESCO World Heritage List export (whc001), 1,273 properties inscribed from 1978 to 2026, with map positions from its coordinates. A site shared by several countries counts once for each. Comparisons with 2019 arrivals use only sites inscribed by 2019. South Sudan, North Korea, the Holy See and Afghanistan have sites but no arrivals figure, so they are not in the comparisons. Correlation shows that two things move together. It does not show that sites cause tourism: large, well-connected countries tend to have both.
Data: World Bank, World Development Indicators (ST.INT.ARVL), updated 8 October 2026 · UNESCO World Heritage List. Built with D3.