Middle East Tourism Recovering

The number of tourists to the Middle East will more than double by 2020, according to a report by the UN World Tourism Organization.

The growth rate in the region will be almost double the world average taking the number of tourists arriving in the region to 136 million by 2020, up from 54 million last year.

According to the UNWTO, the number of tourists arriving in the Middle East in the first seven months of this year dropped 13 percent compared with the same period last year as a result of the global economic slowdown.

However, the UAE saw a tourism growth of 3 percent in the first quarter of this year, according to the UNWTO. And in 2008 the region overall experienced tourism growth of 18.2 percent, which is expected to continue from next year.

The recovery is in line with the global tourism industry, which is predicted to be over the worst and recovery in 2010 looks likely according to the same report from the UNWTO.