World tourism recovers from September 11

Tourism around the world hit a record last year despite fears of terrorism, although travellers stayed closer to home, made shorter visits and spent less.

For the first time, the number of international arrivals broke the 700 million mark, reaching nearly 715 million, the World Tourism Organisation said today.

That marked a 3.1% rise from 2001, when the September 11 attacks triggered a drop in 0.6% drop from the previous year.