WORLD TOURISM BY THE NUMBERS

More people are traveling worldwide, more of them are from China and many of them are heading to Europe, according to the United Nations World Tourism Organization.

Tourist arrivals overall were up worldwide in 2014 over the previous year by an increase of 4.7 percent. The UNWTO said Europe was the most visited region in the world with over half the world's international tourists adding up to 588 million arrivals, an increase of 4 percent or 22 million overnight visitors over 2013. Biggest increases were in Northern Europe and Southern and Mediterranean Europe (7 percent), while Western European arrivals were up 2 percent. Arrivals in Central and Eastern Europe were unchanged after three years of increases.

China has been the world's largest outbound market since 2012. Outbound trips from China increased in 2014 by 11 million over the year before, bringing the country's outbound total to 109 million trips, the UNWTO said. Travel from Russia decreased 6 percent in 2014 while travel from Brazil grew by 2 percent, the WTO found.

International tourist arrivals in Asia and the Pacific increased 5 percent last year by 13 million to 263 million. North America saw an 8 percent increase in international tourist arrivals, and arrivals to Central and South America increased 6 percent, doubling their growth from the previous year and exceeding world averages.

The UNWTO said international tourist arrivals in the Middle East were up 4 percent, while Africa's international tourist numbers grew by an estimated 2 percent, an increase of about 1 million arrivals. The organization noted the continent saw more tourists despite the Ebola outbreak, but added that the findings were based on "limited and volatile data."

For 2015, the UNWTO is forecasting another increase in international tourist arrivals between 3 and 4 percent. The organization expects increased demand as the global economy improves, driven partly by a decline in oil prices.

FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT SITES

The U.S. is nominating 10 buildings in seven states by American architect Frank Lloyd Wright to be included on the World Heritage List, which recognizes important cultural and natural sites.

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World Tourism Trends, Wright Sites, Cancun Time, NYC Garden