European tourism is on the rebound according to the latest stats from the UN World Tourism Organization, which found that international tourist arrivals were up 8 percent in the first half of the year.
Between January and June of this year, Europe's 28 countries received 231 million international tourists -- 17 million more than the 214 million who travelled to the continent during the same period last year.
Spain recorded the highest growth at 12 percent, followed closely by the UK (+11 percent), France (+8 percent), Germany (+4 percent) and Italy (+3 percent).
Analysts call the performance "extraordinary" considering the maturity of most destinations and the large base volume.
"This growth follows a modest 2 percent increase in 2016 and reflects a clear rebound in destinations that suffered decreases in previous years, such as Turkey, France and Belgium," reads the report.
At the global scale, international tourism likewise posted their strongest half-year results since 2010, with an estimated 598 million international tourists travelling the world in the first half of the year -- six percent growth, or 36 million more tourists.
Globally, growth was highest in the Middle East (+9 percent), followed by Europe (+8 percent), Africa (+8 percent), Asia and the Pacific (+6 percent), and the Americas (+3 percent).
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