Tourism worldwide is suffering a harsher contraction than expected, according to new figures from The United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).

International tourism fell 8% in the first four months of this year compared to the same period in 2008, according to the new edition of the thrice-yearly UNWTO World Tourism Barometer.Arrivals fell to 247m arrivals, but the tourism body estimates that the rate of decline is expected to ease during the remainder of 2009. Current market conditions mean that international tourism is now forecast to decrease by between 4% and 6% in 2009.

Commenting on the current developments regarding the swine influenza outbreak, Dr. Ghassan Aïdi, President of the International Hotel & Restaurant Association “IH&RA” informs on the importance of the safety and well-being of the hospitality industry and confirms that the IH&RA is working closely together with the Tourism Emergency Response Network “TERN” partners, the United Nation World Tourism Organization “UNWTO”, the World Health Organization “WHO” and sharing views on the matter on continuous basis. Dr. Ghassan Aïdi also said, this ensures first that the special situation of the hospitality industry is taken fully into account in “WHO” considerations and that the industry is able to provide the best and most accurate advice to travelers, limiting the impacts on the travel and tourism industry.

As well as addressing the challenges that a deteriorating world economy will bring to the travel and tourism industry, the key message in the latest UNWTO World Tourism Barometer is that times of crisis often lead to the biggest opportunities.The industry is under no illusions that the course of 2009 will enforce wide-scale strategic re-thinks and many tough decisions will have to be made. But what is just as certain is that the industry is a highly-resilient sector and will eventually return to strong growth.

Preliminary results for the first four months of 2006 point to some 236 million international tourist arrivals worldwide, or 10 million more than in the same period of 2005.