ABSTRACT
Key trends in international tourism show that tourist arrivals across state boundaries reached about 625 million in 1998 worldwide. International tourism receipts (excluding international transport) increased by just 2% in 1998 over 1997 to US$ 445 billion, which was mainly due, perhaps, to Asia's financial crisis. The Middle East was the second fastest growing region in 1997 after Africa, registering an increase of 6.1% in arrivals and 10.5% in tourism receipts over 1996. In 1998, tourism in the Middle East grew much faster than the world average – by 5.3% in terms of arrivals and 6.4% in terms of receipts.
