Travel Review Group

Top 10 Travel Destinations

Coliseum, Rome The top 10 travel destinations in 2007 according to viator.com were as follows:

Rome, Italy
Paris, France
Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
New York, New York, USA
London, England
Florence, Italy
Sydney, Australia
Venice, Italy
San Francisco, California, USA
Tokyo, Japan

With the exception of Sydney and Tokyo, all the top 10 were either in Europe or North America. With the Olympics coming to Bejing, China in 2008 it will be interesting to see if more South East Asia countries make it into the top 10 in 2008.

Global Tourist Arrivals in 2007

According to the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), global international tourism grew by approximately 6% in 2007 to a record 898 million arrivals, an increase of nearly 52 million on 2006.

Tourism generates around $500 billion annually making it the world's largest industry.

The fastest growing region was the Middle East with a 13% increase in visitors, up by 5 million to 46.4 million.

US Visa Waiver Program ESTA goes live

Regulations for entry to the USA have changed

From January 12, 2009, the the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) is now mandatory for visitors entering the United States of America by air or by sea, replacing the I-94W form.

The scheme was introduced on August 1, 2008 by the US Department of Homeland Security on an initially voluntary basis.