The line chart illustrates international tourist arrivals in five different regions of the world (North America, Central and Eastern Europe, South-East Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, and South America) between 1990 and 2005. The data is measured in millions.
Overall, the number of international tourists experienced an upward trend across all areas, particularly in Central and Eastern Europe, which rose sharply. Furthermore, North America recorded the highest number of tourists throughout the period, while South America and Sub-Saharan Africa remained the least visited destinations.
North America witnessed an increase from 70 million in 1990 to peak at approximately 91 million tourists in 2000, although this figure declined slightly to 88 million in 2005. Meanwhile, Central and Eastern Europe saw significant growth from 30 million in 1990 to 60 million in 1995 before reaching around 87 million tourists in 2005, almost as high as that of North America.
On the other hand, South-East Asia started at 20 million in 1990, rising to 35 million in 2000 and ending at nearly 50 million tourists in 2005. Finally, Sub-Saharan Africa and South America began at approximately 9 million and climbed to 12 million over the next five years. From this point, the total visitors for Sub-Saharan Africa grew at a slightly faster rate, reaching 23 million at the end of the period, in contrast to South America’s modest rise to 19 million.