As the barometer of world tourism, "The UNWTO Tourism Highlights 2018 Edition" has just been released by the United Nations World Tourism Organization.

According to the report, international tourism receipts in 2017 totaled US$1.34 trillion due to strong outbound demand from both traditional and emerging markets. As a category in worldwide export earnings, tourism ranks third after chemicals and fuels.

The report showed that emerging economies in Asia, Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America have shown fast growth in recent years, fueled by rising levels of disposable income. 

By region, Europe still remains the largest source region for outbound tourism, contributing almost half the international arrivals, while the share of the Asia-Pacific region has been growing rapidly.

The following are the top 10 countries contributing to outbound tourism in 2017:

   Italy

Spending: US$27.7 billion

Rank in 2016: 9

Change, 2017: +8.9 percent