OECD Tourism Trends and Policies 2024
At a glance
- Tourism rebounded strongly post-COVID-19, with international arrivals across OECD nations increasing 20% according to the report.
- Recovery strength is creating demand-management challenges in popular destinations, straining local communities and environments.
- Report emphasises sustainable tourism practices to ensure equitable distribution of economic benefits among residents, businesses and tourists.
- Benchmarks governance practices across 50 OECD member and partner countries covering policy and statistical profiles.
- Identifies tourism workforce shortages and skills gaps as priority issues requiring targeted policy intervention.
What the report covers
The OECD Tourism Trends and Policies 2024 is a biennial benchmark report covering tourism trends, policies and governance across 50 OECD member and partner countries. It analyses post-pandemic recovery patterns, demand management challenges in overtourism destinations, workforce resilience issues, and the evidence base required for sustainable tourism decision-making. Published by the OECD Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs, Regions and Cities with European Union co-financing, the report addresses policy priorities for balanced tourism development.
Key findings
Tourism demand has recovered robustly following the COVID-19 pandemic contraction of 2020–21. According to the report, international arrivals across OECD nations have increased 20%, with some countries surpassing previous tourism highs, demonstrating strong visitor demand. However, this strength masks significant geographic variation and creates management challenges in specific destinations.
Overtourism and unbalanced development present core challenges. The report identifies that recovery strength is creating demand-management difficulties, particularly in popular destinations where local communities and environments face strain. Tourism impacts are described as often economically, socially and environmentally unbalanced, with benefits not automatically accruing to local communities.
Sustainable tourism governance and policy reform are essential. The report emphasises that destinations and governments at all levels are developing policies to manage social and environmental impacts from unplanned growth, including visitor flow management, tourism offer diversification, and investment in timely, granular data. The report highlights the need to understand trade-offs in tourism development.
Workforce challenges threaten tourism resilience. A dedicated chapter addresses labour shortages and skills gaps as priority issues for the sector. The report discusses opportunities to address both short-term and longer-term workforce weaknesses, emphasising the importance of workforce strength for building economic resilience.
Evidence gaps hinder policy effectiveness. The report highlights the need to accelerate development of timely, granular data and measures tailored to specific policy needs of destinations. Strengthening the evidence base for sustainable tourism decision-making is identified as critical for informed policy-making.
Key numbers
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| International arrivals growth across OECD nations | 20% increase |
| Countries covered in benchmark | 50 OECD member and partner countries |
| Report publication cycle | Biennial |
Figures as published in the source; forecasts and survey results are labelled as such in the note.
Why it matters
DMOs & destinations
The report provides a governance benchmark across 50 countries, helping DMOs understand policy approaches to managing overtourism, diversifying tourism offers, and investing in decision-making data. It emphasises the need for sustainable practices ensuring equitable benefit distribution and addresses how to balance economic gains against community and environmental strain in high-volume destinations.
Hotels & hospitality
The report identifies tourism workforce shortages and skills gaps as critical resilience issues. Hotels and hospitality operators must engage with policy discussions on labour retention, training and skills development. The emphasis on sustainable practices and community engagement signals regulatory and market expectations for operators to adopt proactive strategies mitigating negative local impacts.
Travel tech & distribution
The report highlights gaps in timely, granular data for tourism decision-making. Travel-tech platforms and distribution channels can support this evidence agenda by providing real-time visitor flow data, demand patterns and impact metrics. The focus on data-driven policy signals demand for tools enabling destinations to manage demand effectively and measure sustainability outcomes.
Methodology and limits
The report is compiled from tourism statistics submitted by OECD member and partner countries, aligned with International Recommendations for Tourism Statistics 2008, Tourism Satellite Account methodology, and the IMF Balance of Payments Manual. Data are accessible via the OECD Data Explorer platform. The report includes country-specific policy profiles and synthesis tables. Figures reflect observed statistics and official data submissions; the source text provided covers the foreword, acknowledgements and reader's guide sections, which define methodology and scope rather than detailed findings.
Official source
The report is © OECD. This brief is an original editorial summary by TourismIntel — it quotes only figures published in the source and never reproduces the document.
Check the official statistics on Pulse
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