Tuvalu recorded a total of 3,600 tourists in 2019, ranking 202nd in the world in absolute terms.
That smaller countries regularly perform lower in a comparison of the absolute number of guests, is obvious. By putting the tourist numbers in relation to the population of Tuvalu, the result is much more comparable picture: With 0.32 tourists per resident, Tuvalu ranked 76th in the world. In Polynesia, it ranked 2nd.
In 2013, Tuvalu generated around 2.40 million US dollars in the tourism sector alone. This corresponds to 3.8 percent of its the gross domestic product and approximately 0 percent of all international tourism receipts in Polynesia.
On average, each of the tourists arriving in 2013 spent about 1,561 US dollars.
Development of the tourism sector in Tuvalu from 1995 to 2019
The following chart shows the number of tourist arrivals registered in Tuvalu each year. Anyone who spends at least one night in the country but does not live there for more than 12 months is considered a tourist. Insofar as the survey included the purpose of the trip, business trips and other non-tourism travel purposes have already been excluded. The number of people passing through within the same day, and e.g., crew members of ships or flights are also not considered tourists in most countries. If the same person travels in and out more than once within the same year, each visit counts again.
Revenues from tourism
In 2005, tourism revenues amounted to 1.20 million USD, or about 5.5 percent of the gross national product. This corresponded to about 1,100.00 tourists at that time and roughly 1,091 USD per person. Within 8 years, the country's dependence on tourism has increased slightly. Before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, sales were $2.40 million billion, 6.4 percent of gross national product. Thus, each visitor spent an average of $1,846 on their vacation in Tuvalu.
Full figures for 2020, the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, are not currently available. However, national and international travel has been restricted worldwide, and some countries have even been closed off from the outside world altogether. Dramatic revenue losses are expected, with some countries experiencing losses of up to more than 80%.
All data for Tuvalu in detail
Year
Number of tourists
Receipts
% of GNP
Receipts per tourist
2019
3,600.00
2018
3,200.00
2017
2,500
2016
2,500
2015
2,400.00
2014
1,400.00
2013
1,300.00
2.40 m $
6.4 %
1,846 $
2012
1,100.00
2.70 m $
7.2 %
2,455 $
2011
1,200.00
2.40 m $
6.2 %
2,000 $
2010
1,700.00
2.40 m $
7.5 %
1,412 $
2009
1,600.00
1.50 m $
5.5 %
937 $
2008
1,700.00
1.90 m $
6.3 %
1,118 $
2007
1,100.00
1.50 m $
5.5 %
1,364 $
2006
1,100.00
1.20 m $
5.2 %
1,091 $
2005
1,100.00
1.20 m $
5.5 %
1,091 $
2004
1,300.00
2003
1,400.00
2002
1,300.00
2001
1,100.00
2000
1,100.00
1999
1,100.00
1998
1,000
1997
1,000
1996
1,000
1995
900.00
Our data on tourist numbers, revenues and expenditures are based on information from the World Tourism Organization. However, to ensure international comparability, the data for some years or countries were manually researched and corrected if they obviously included visitors without overnight stays. In these cases, the data were taken from the official communications of the respective national tourism authorities.
The World Tourism Organization additionally points out that in some countries, the number of tourists is only counted at airports, while in others they are also counted at border crossings or even hotels. A comprehensive and reliable indication is therefore hardly possible in any country.
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