Planning your next trip and looking for an unusual destination to explore then these fastest growing tourist destinations should be on your list.
The United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) has released the list of fastest growing tourist destination around the world and surprisingly Palestinian territories, Egypt and Mongolia among others have recorded a massive growth in its tourism sector.
According to numbers, the destinations received 369 million international tourists (overnight visitors), which is 21 million more than the number recorded last year during the same period. The UNWTO data reveals that despite political unrest or terrorism, some countries have managed to pull the crowd and emerge as one of the fastest growing tourist destinations.
Take a look at UNWTO's top 10 fastest-growing tourist destinations in 2017.
Palestinian territories
The tourism in Palestine is increasing rapidly despite the ongoing conflict. According to UNWTO, occupied territories recorded a massive growth of 57.8 percent in the tourism sector this year compared to 4,00,000 visitors in 2016.
Egypt
Despite the ongoing political unrest, the tourism industry in Egypt recorded the second highest growth this year – 51 percent – compared to 5.26 million visitors in 2016.
The Northern Mariana Islands emerged as the third fastest growing tourist destinations in the world. The self-governing US commonwealth territory recorded a jump of 37.3 percent compared to 5,31,000 visitors in 2016.
Iceland making it to the list doesn't come as a surprise because it is one of the popular tourist destinations in the world. According to UNWTO, Iceland witnessed a growth of 34.9 percent compared to 1.79 million visitors in 2016.
The shooting on the beach of Tunisian resort of Sousse that killed 38 people on June 26, 2015, has not stopped tourist from exploring the North African country. According to UNWTO, Tunisia recorded 32.5 percent growth this year compared to 5.7 million visitors in 2016.
Like Iceland, Vietnam is also no stranger to tourists around the world. Vietnam is one of the popular and fastest growing tourist destinations in Asia. The country witnessed a growth of 31.2 percent in its tourism this year compared to 10 million visitors in 2016.
This South American country making it on the list comes as a surprise. Thanks to its picturesque beauty, the country has recorded a jump of around 30.2 percent this year compared to 3 million visitors in 2016.
Set between the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, Nicaragua has emerged as one of the fastest growing tourist destinations in Central America. The country recorded 28.4 percent growth this year compared to 1.5 million visitors in 2016.
Mongolia
This comes as a major surprise in the fastest growing tourist destinations list. From 404,000 visitors in 2016, this country recorded a 28.3 percent jump in its tourist this year.
The ongoing dispute in the Middle Eastern country, considered as a holy land, has not affected the tourism growth. Israel's tourism sector recorded a growth of 25.1 percent compared to 2.9 million visitors in 2016.
