World Tourism Up; France Tops List

International tourism was up last year and will accelerate this year, the Madrid-based World Tourism Organization said.

Worldwide, tourist numbers rose 4.6% to 592 million, and this year will rise 5% to 6%, according to the WTO’s initial estimates.

The top destination was France, which drew about 61.5 million tourists, up 2.3% from 1995, compared with 44.8 million for the U.S. and 41.4 million for Spain. But the U.S. made the most money off travelers: $64.4 billion. For the first time, Spain earned more from tourism than France: $28.4 billion versus France’s $28.2 billion.