The World's Most Visited Countries

Each year the UN's World Tourism Organization (UN Tourism) tracks how many international visitors each country receives, and the result captures the world's travel habits in a single ranking. In 2024, global tourism completed its recovery from the pandemic, with about 1.4 billion international arrivals worldwide, almost exactly the pre-2020 peak. The order has shifted since then: France remains far ahead, Türkiye has climbed past Italy, and Japan has surged on the strength of a weak yen, while China and Thailand, both top-ten destinations before the pandemic, have not yet returned. These are the ten most visited countries in the world by international arrivals, ranked from the leader down.

1. France: 100 Million Visitors

France is once again the world's most visited country, drawing around 100 million international visitors in 2024 and becoming the first nation to reach that mark in a single year, helped along by the Paris Olympics. Paris and its landmarks, the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, and Notre-Dame, anchor the country's appeal, but the French Riviera, the wine regions, and the Alps spread visitors well beyond the capital. Most of France's foreign arrivals come from neighboring European countries.

2. Spain: 93.8 Million Visitors

Spain set a national record in 2024 with 93.8 million international visitors, up about 10 percent on the year before. The Mediterranean coast and the islands, the Balearics and the Canaries, draw the largest crowds, while Barcelona, Madrid, and Seville carry the cultural traffic. The numbers have grown large enough to spark protests against mass tourism in Barcelona and the Balearic Islands, where residents say visitor volumes are straining housing and daily life.

3. United States: 72.4 Million Visitors

The United States ranked third in 2024 with 72.4 million international visitors, though arrivals have still not returned to their pre-pandemic peak. New York, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and Orlando are the busiest gateways and destinations, and Canada and Mexico send more visitors than any other countries. By spending, the US stands alone: foreign tourists spent about $215 billion there in 2024, more than any other nation earns from tourism.

4. Türkiye: 60.6 Million Visitors

Türkiye, long known in English as Turkey, climbed past Italy into fourth place in 2024 with 60.6 million international arrivals; its own tourism ministry, which also counts Turkish citizens living abroad, puts the figure above 62 million. Istanbul, where Europe and Asia meet across the Bosporus, is the main gateway, while the Mediterranean resort city of Antalya draws enormous beach traffic on its own. Strong air connections and a favorable exchange rate have made the country one of the fastest-rising destinations in Europe.

5. Italy: 57.8 Million Visitors

Italy saw 57.8 million international arrivals in 2024 by UN Tourism's count, narrowly behind Türkiye after years as the fourth most visited country. Rome, Venice, and Florence remain the headline destinations, backed by one of the densest concentrations of UNESCO World Heritage sites anywhere. The crowding at those cities pushed Venice to trial an entry fee for day-trippers in 2024, an early sign of how the most popular spots are starting to respond to their own success.

6. Mexico: 45 Million Visitors

Mexico received 45 million international visitors in 2024, the most of any country in Latin America. Caribbean-coast beach resorts, led by Cancún and the Riviera Maya, account for much of that, alongside Mexico City's museums and food scene and the Maya archaeological sites of the Yucatán. The United States supplies the great majority of Mexico's foreign visitors.

7. United Kingdom: 41.8 Million Visitors

The United Kingdom welcomed 41.8 million international visitors in 2024. London accounts for the largest share by far, with the British Museum, the Tower of London, and the West End among its most-visited attractions, while Edinburgh, Bath, and Stratford-upon-Avon draw history and culture travelers beyond the capital. Visitors from the United States and the European mainland make up the bulk of arrivals.

8. Germany: 37.5 Million Visitors

Germany drew 37.5 million international visitors in 2024. Berlin, Munich, and the Bavarian Alps are the main draws, along with the Rhine valley and the medieval towns of the south. Business and trade-fair travel makes up a large share of the total, since cities like Frankfurt and Cologne host some of the world's biggest industry expositions, and tourism supports millions of jobs across the country.

9. Japan: 36.9 Million Visitors

Japan recorded just under 37 million international visitors in 2024, an all-time high and a jump of roughly 47 percent over the year before. A historically weak yen made the country much cheaper for foreign travelers, driving demand for Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka and for the ski resorts of Hokkaido. The spring cherry-blossom season and the autumn foliage remain the busiest windows, and Mount Fuji pulls large crowds on its own. The rush has been steep enough that several places brought in crowd controls in 2024, including a daily cap and a toll on the most popular Mount Fuji climbing trail, and the town of Fujikawaguchiko put up a barrier to block a viral photo spot. With its domestic population shrinking, Japan increasingly treats inbound tourism as a central part of its economic future.

10. Greece: 36 Million Visitors

Greece rounds out the top ten with about 36 million international arrivals in 2024, a record year built on its islands, its classical history, and a growing effort to attract visitors outside the summer peak. Athens anchors the mainland with the Acropolis and its ancient sites, while islands such as Santorini, Crete, Mykonos, and Rhodes carry much of the beach and cruise traffic. Cruise ships are a major channel, and the crowding has consequences: Santorini can host several large vessels and tens of thousands of day passengers at once, and in 2025 Greece introduced a cruise-passenger fee at its busiest island ports to manage the load. Tourism is one of the largest parts of the Greek economy, accounting for roughly a fifth of national output and a comparable share of employment.

How The Map Has Shifted

The biggest story in the 2024 rankings is not the leader but the churn beneath it. China and Thailand, both fixtures in the pre-pandemic top ten, have slipped out as China's inbound travel recovers slowly from its late reopening. Japan has rocketed up on the strength of a cheap yen, and Türkiye has overtaken Italy. At the same time, the countries at the top are increasingly contending with the downside of their popularity, as protests in Spain and entry fees in Venice and the Greek islands show that being among the most visited is no longer an unqualified point of pride.