World Airlines Traffic Set for Robust Growth in 2006

World airline scheduled passenger traffic is expected to show robust growth over the next three years following a strong rebound in 2004 and continued resilience in 2005, according to the latest medium-term forecasts from the United Nations aviation agency.

At the same time the UN tourism agency reported preliminary results for the first four months of 2006 showing 10 million more international tourist arrivals worldwide than in than in the same period last year, for a total 236 million, or a 4.5 percent growth rate.

With the anticipated good performance of the world economy, airline traffic is expected to rise by 6.1 percent in 2006, 5.8 percent in 2007, and 5.6 percent in 2008, the UN International Civil Aviation Organization said.

The markets for European as well as African airlines are expected to grow at rates higher than the world average. North America as well as Latin America and the Caribbean are expected to grow somewhat below the world averages.

As for tourism, the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) noted that although the rate of growth has slowed slightly, in line with forecasts, 2006 has got off to a good start, with the first four months recording a 4.5 per cent growth in international arrivals worldwide.

“International tourism has now entered a more stable phase of sustained demand without big peaks and troughs,” UNWTO Secretary General Francesco Frangialli said. “Although the rate of growth is slowing gradually, international tourism is firmly on track to grow at a rate above the long-term average of 4 per cent for the third year in a row now –barring unexpected events, of course.”