Tourist Spending Statistics in 2026: UK, Australia, Canada, and France

Tourist spending statistics at a glance

Tourist spending looks very different depending on the market, but the supplied figures show one consistent pattern: when arrivals, overnight trips, and receipts recover together, spending can snap back quickly. The United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, and France each show a different version of that rebound (OECD Tourism Trends and Policies 2024).

Fast facts

• United Kingdom: international tourist spend was estimated at GBP 31.1 billion in 2023 (OECD Tourism Trends and Policies 2024 - United Kingdom).
• Australia: international tourist spending reached AUD 27.9 billion in 2023 (OECD Tourism Trends and Policies 2024 - Australia).
• Canada: international tourist spending reached CAD 24.1 billion in 2023 (OECD Tourism Trends and Policies 2024 - Canada).
• France: provisional international tourism revenue reached EUR 63.5 billion in 2023 (OECD Tourism Trends and Policies 2024 - France).
• United Kingdom: domestic tourist arrivals reached 117.3 million in 2023 (OECD Tourism Trends and Policies 2024 - United Kingdom).
• Australia: domestic overnight trips reached 112.6 million in 2023 (OECD Tourism Trends and Policies 2024 - Australia).
• Canada: domestic tourist arrivals reached over 97 million in 2023 (OECD Tourism Trends and Policies 2024 - Canada).
• France: international tourist arrivals reached 98 million in 2023 (OECD Tourism Trends and Policies 2024 - France).

Contents

• What the spending data says
• Country-by-country spending snapshot
• Arrivals, nights, and receipts
• Domestic tourism versus inbound tourism
• What the revenue mix suggests
• Public funding and policy signals

What the spending data says

Tourist spending statistics are most useful when they are read as a system rather than a single number. Arrivals drive volume, overnight stays support accommodation and food spending, and receipts show how much money actually flows into the tourism economy.

That is why the dataset is strongest when you compare the same market across multiple measures. The United Kingdom, for example, posted 38.0 million international arrivals in 2023, 117.3 million domestic tourist arrivals in 2023, and GBP 31.1 billion in international tourist spend in the same year (OECD Tourism Trends and Policies 2024 - United Kingdom). Those three figures tell a fuller story than any one metric alone.

Australia shows a similar structure with 7.2 million international visitor arrivals in 2023, AUD 27.9 billion in international tourist spending, 112.6 million domestic overnight trips, and AUD 109.3 billion in total domestic overnight spend (OECD Tourism Trends and Policies 2024 - Australia). In that case, domestic tourism is not a side note. It is a major part of the spending picture.

Canada and France reinforce the same point from different angles. Canada recorded over 18.3 million international tourist arrivals in 2023 and CAD 24.1 billion in international tourist spending, while France reached 98 million international tourist arrivals and EUR 63.5 billion in provisional 2023 international tourism revenue (OECD Tourism Trends and Policies 2024 - Canada; OECD Tourism Trends and Policies 2024 - France).

Country-by-country spending snapshot

A compact comparison makes the pattern easier to see. The latest figures in the dataset are not directly currency-comparable, but they are still useful for showing scale within each market.

Country	Latest spending-related figure	Related volume figure	Source label
United Kingdom	GBP 31.1 billion in international tourist spend in 2023	38.0 million international arrivals in 2023	OECD Tourism Trends and Policies 2024 - United Kingdom
Australia	AUD 27.9 billion in international tourist spending in 2023	7.2 million international visitor arrivals in 2023	OECD Tourism Trends and Policies 2024 - Australia
Canada	CAD 24.1 billion in international tourist spending in 2023	over 18.3 million international tourist arrivals in 2023	OECD Tourism Trends and Policies 2024 - Canada
France	EUR 63.5 billion provisional international tourism revenue in 2023	98 million international tourist arrivals in 2023	OECD Tourism Trends and Policies 2024 - France

A few observations stand out from that table:

• France combines the highest reported 2023 revenue figure in the dataset with the largest arrival count among the four countries (OECD Tourism Trends and Policies 2024 - France).
• The United Kingdom also pairs a large arrival base with a sizeable spend total, which is consistent with its 117.3 million domestic tourist arrivals and GBP 6.3 billion in visitor spend in Q1 2023 (OECD Tourism Trends and Policies 2024 - United Kingdom).
• Australia’s international arrival base is smaller than the others listed, but its tourism economy still shows very strong domestic demand, with AUD 109.3 billion in total domestic overnight spend in 2023 (OECD Tourism Trends and Policies 2024 - Australia).
• Canada sits between high-volume European destinations and smaller long-haul markets, with CAD 113.4 billion in total tourism expenditure in 2023 and domestic tourism accounting for 76% of total tourism expenditure (OECD Tourism Trends and Policies 2024 - Canada).

Arrivals, nights, and receipts

The biggest mistake in reading tourist spending statistics is treating receipts and arrivals as if they were the same thing. They are not. A market can attract many visitors without producing the same receipts as another market, especially if trip length, domestic demand, and spending mix differ.

United Kingdom: large domestic demand and strong recovery

The UK data set is especially useful because it includes both pre- and post-recovery indicators. In 2023, the country recorded 38.0 million international arrivals, 117.3 million domestic tourist arrivals, and GBP 31.1 billion in international tourist spend (OECD Tourism Trends and Policies 2024 - United Kingdom).

The recovery path is even clearer when you look at the policy targets and the later outcomes side by side:

• The UK Tourism Recovery Plan targeted 99 million domestic overnight trips with GBP 19 billion in spend by end-2022 (OECD Tourism Trends and Policies 2024 - United Kingdom).
• It also targeted 41 million international visitors spending GBP 28 billion by end-2023 (OECD Tourism Trends and Policies 2024 - United Kingdom).
• By end-2022, the UK had reached 126 million domestic overnight trips with GBP 33 billion in spend (OECD Tourism Trends and Policies 2024 - United Kingdom).
• By end-2022, international visitors reached 31.2 million and spent GBP 26.5 billion (OECD Tourism Trends and Policies 2024 - United Kingdom).

Those figures show how closely spending can track recovery in visitor volume when the market regains momentum.

The longer-run receipt series also gives context. UK total international receipts moved from GBP 54.598 billion in 2018 to GBP 58.299 billion in 2019, then down to GBP 25.259 billion in 2020 before rising to GBP 29.163 billion in 2021 and GBP 60.371 billion in 2022 (OECD Tourism Trends and Policies 2024 - United Kingdom).

International travel receipts follow a similar arc:

• GBP 43.803 billion in 2018
• GBP 47.506 billion in 2019
• GBP 22.809 billion in 2020
• GBP 27.442 billion in 2021
• GBP 53.064 billion in 2022 (OECD Tourism Trends and Policies 2024 - United Kingdom)

The UK’s total international expenditure climbed from GBP 77.030 billion in 2018 to GBP 86.307 billion in 2022, after dropping to GBP 24.636 billion in 2020 (OECD Tourism Trends and Policies 2024 - United Kingdom). That sequence matters because it shows the gap between inbound receipts and outbound expenditure, which is one of the clearest indicators of how tourism money moves through a market.

Australia: domestic spend is the anchor

Australia’s dataset is a reminder that tourist spending statistics should not be framed only around inbound arrivals. In 2023, Australia recorded 7.2 million international visitor arrivals, AUD 27.9 billion in international tourist spending, 112.6 million domestic overnight trips, and AUD 109.3 billion in total domestic overnight spend (OECD Tourism Trends and Policies 2024 - Australia).

That domestic layer is huge. Australia also logged 242.3 million nights in official accommodation in 2023 (OECD Tourism Trends and Policies 2024 - Australia). Even without a full breakdown by trip purpose, the figures show a market where internal movement is the main spending engine.

The receipts and expenditure series show a severe disruption in 2020 followed by recovery:

• Total international receipts: AUD 63.253 billion in 2018, AUD 68.949 billion in 2019, AUD 38.382 billion in 2020 (OECD Tourism Trends and Policies 2024 - Australia).
• International travel receipts: AUD 60.276 billion in 2018, AUD 65.484 billion in 2019, AUD 37.520 billion in 2020 (OECD Tourism Trends and Policies 2024 - Australia).
• Total international expenditure: AUD 56.853 billion in 2018, AUD 59.507 billion in 2019, AUD 11.573 billion in 2020 (OECD Tourism Trends and Policies 2024 - Australia).

The country’s tourism plan also sets a clear growth path:

• 10.2 million international arrivals by 2025 (OECD Tourism Trends and Policies 2024 - Australia).
• 12.1 million international visitor numbers by 2028 (OECD Tourism Trends and Policies 2024 - Australia).
• AUD 50.7 billion in tourism spend by 2028 (OECD Tourism Trends and Policies 2024 - Australia).

Canada: domestic expenditure dominates the mix

Canada’s 2023 data shows a balanced picture with strong domestic weight. The country recorded over 18.3 million international tourist arrivals, CAD 24.1 billion in international tourist spending, and CAD 113.4 billion in total tourism expenditure (OECD Tourism Trends and Policies 2024 - Canada).

The domestic share is explicit in the dataset: domestic tourism accounted for 76% of total tourism expenditure in Canada in 2023 (OECD Tourism Trends and Policies 2024 - Canada). That means most tourism money in Canada is generated inside the country rather than through inbound visitors alone.

The internal tourism consumption detail adds more structure. Canada’s 2022 internal tourism consumption included CAD 74.165 billion of domestic tourism expenditure and CAD 19.805 billion of inbound tourism expenditure (OECD Tourism Trends and Policies 2024 - Canada). Within that total, tourism characteristic products totaled CAD 61.034 billion, while accommodation services for visitors totaled CAD 17.470 billion and food and beverage serving services totaled CAD 14.199 billion (OECD Tourism Trends and Policies 2024 - Canada).

That composition is valuable because it shows where tourist spending clusters. Accommodation and food service are among the clearest visible beneficiaries of travel demand.

France: revenue scale remains unusually large

France is the largest revenue figure in the dataset. It recorded EUR 56.7 billion in international tourism revenues in 2022 and a provisional EUR 63.5 billion in 2023 (OECD Tourism Trends and Policies 2024 - France).

France also posted 98 million international tourist arrivals in 2023, while European countries accounted for over 83.3% of international arrivals (OECD Tourism Trends and Policies 2024 - France). That concentration is worth noting because it suggests a highly regional visitor mix.

The domestic dimension matters here too. France said domestic tourism structurally represents two-thirds of tourism consumption (OECD Tourism Trends and Policies 2024 - France). That means the country’s tourism economy is not just powered by foreign arrivals; local and domestic travel are built into the system.

Domestic tourism versus inbound tourism

One of the strongest takeaways from the dataset is that domestic tourism can rival or exceed inbound tourism in economic importance.

• In the UK, domestic tourist arrivals reached 117.3 million in 2023, far above the 38.0 million international arrivals (OECD Tourism Trends and Policies 2024 - United Kingdom).
• In Australia, 112.6 million domestic overnight trips and AUD 109.3 billion in domestic overnight spend dwarf the international arrival count of 7.2 million and international spend of AUD 27.9 billion (OECD Tourism Trends and Policies 2024 - Australia).
• In Canada, domestic tourism accounted for 76% of total tourism expenditure in 2023 (OECD Tourism Trends and Policies 2024 - Canada).
• In France, domestic tourism structurally represents two-thirds of tourism consumption (OECD Tourism Trends and Policies 2024 - France).

Those ratios matter because tourist spending statistics are often reported in a way that overemphasizes inbound headlines. The data here show that domestic movement is usually the deeper, steadier layer.

Why this matters for reading tourism data

If you are comparing destinations, look for three things before drawing conclusions:

1. The relationship between arrivals and spend.
2. The domestic share of total tourism activity.
3. Whether receipts, expenditure, and overnight trips are moving in the same direction.

The dataset shows that those relationships can differ sharply from country to country. A lower arrival count does not automatically mean weak spending, and a high arrival count does not guarantee the biggest tourism economy.

What the revenue mix suggests

The receipts data give a long-run picture of volatility and recovery.

United Kingdom and Australia

The UK’s total international receipts rose from GBP 54.598 billion in 2018 to GBP 60.371 billion in 2022, with a trough of GBP 25.259 billion in 2020 (OECD Tourism Trends and Policies 2024 - United Kingdom). Australia moved from AUD 63.253 billion in 2018 to AUD 68.949 billion in 2019, then fell to AUD 38.382 billion in 2020 (OECD Tourism Trends and Policies 2024 - Australia).

Those patterns are similar in shape even though the currencies differ. Both markets show a sharp pandemic-era drop followed by a recovery path.

Canada and France

Canada’s total international receipts fell from CAD 44.323 billion in 2019 to CAD 18.894 billion in 2020 (OECD Tourism Trends and Policies 2024 - Canada). France’s total international receipts dropped from EUR 63.313 billion in 2019 to EUR 31.303 billion in 2020 and then rose to EUR 64.488 billion in 2022 (OECD Tourism Trends and Policies 2024 - France).

France’s longer series is especially notable because it closes 2022 above the 2019 level in the data supplied. That is a useful reminder that recovery can happen at different speeds across markets.

Public funding and policy signals

Tourist spending statistics are not just about demand. They also reveal how governments try to shape tourism outcomes.

The UK had 33 accredited Local Visitor Economy Partnerships as of June 2024 and a British Tourist Authority budget allocation of GBP 50.7 million in 2023-24 (OECD Tourism Trends and Policies 2024 - United Kingdom). France’s support structure included EUR 140 million for Regional Tourism Committees, EUR 222 million for Departmental Tourism Committees, and EUR 822 million for local tourism information offices in 2022 (OECD Tourism Trends and Policies 2024 - France).

France also mobilised more than EUR 1.9 billion through the Destination France Plan from 2022 to 2024, with more than EUR 1.2 billion committed by the end of 2023 (OECD Tourism Trends and Policies 2024 - France). That scale shows how destination investment can sit alongside spending growth.

A few policy-level takeaways emerge from the figures:

• Tourism support is often spread across multiple levels of government, not concentrated in a single budget line.
• Destination funding is likely to matter most when domestic demand, inbound recovery, and infrastructure all need to move together.
• The strongest tourism markets in the dataset are the ones where spending and arrivals are reinforced by a broad domestic base.

The data in this article point to the same underlying pattern across the UK, Australia, Canada, and France: tourist spending is strongest when domestic tourism, inbound travel, and policy support all reinforce one another (OECD Tourism Trends and Policies 2024).