Tonga: International tourism, expenditures (current US$)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2020, Tonga's international tourism, expenditures (current US$) fell 13.6% on 2019 (from US$44 million to US$38 million).

Across the 16 yearly changes before that (2004 to 2019), the average change was +9.2% and a typical year strayed about 18.2% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.3 standard deviations below that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 58.4% in 2017 and the biggest yearly fall was 26.5% in 2016. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2011 to 2020 the straight-line trend is upward, about US$1.91 million a year. A straight line explains 66% of the movement over 10 observed years.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

How it compares

In 2020, Tonga had the 120th highest value of the 129 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.

Closest to Tonga in the 2020 ranking

• Trinidad and Tobago — 118th of 129: US$42 million
• Seychelles — 119th of 129: US$39 million
• Montenegro — 120th of 129: US$38 million
• Eswatini — 122nd of 129: US$36.4 million
• Mauritania — 123rd of 129: US$35 million
• Solomon Islands — 124th of 129: US$30.91 million

What this measures

International tourism expenditures are expenditures of international outbound visitors in other countries, including payments to foreign carriers for international transport. These expenditures may include those by residents traveling abroad as same-day visitors, except in cases where these are important enough to justify separate classification. For some countries they do not include expenditures for passenger transport items. Data are in current U.S. dollars.

Limitations: Tourism can be either domestic or international. The data refers to international tourism, where the traveler's country of residence differs from the visiting country. International tourism consists of inbound (arrival) and outbound (departures) tourism. The data are from the World Tourism Organization (WTO), a United Nations agency. The data on inbound and outbound tourists refer to the number of arrivals and departures, not to the number of people traveling. Expenditure associated with the activity of international visitors has been traditionally identified with the travel item of the Balance of Payments (BOP).

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a gap-filled total.

All 18 values

International tourism, expenditures (current US$) in nearby economies

• Australia — US$7.65 billion (2020)
• Brunei Darussalam — US$585 million (2018)
• Cambodia — US$213 million (2020)
• Fiji — US$77 million (2020)
• French Polynesia — US$226 million (2016)
• Hong Kong SAR, China — US$26.5 billion (2018)
• Indonesia — US$1.98 billion (2020)
• Japan — US$6.74 billion (2020)
• Korea, Rep. — US$16.71 billion (2020)
• Lao PDR

More private sector & trade data for Tonga

• Merchandise imports (current US$) — US$255 million (2025)
• Merchandise exports (current US$) — US$13 million (2025)
• Merchandise trade (% of GDP) — 39.46% (2025)
• Computer, communications and other services (% of commercial service imports) — 32.75% (2025)
• Commercial service imports (current US$) — US$169.35 million (2025)
• Transport services (% of commercial service imports) — 24.33% (2025)
• Travel services (% of commercial service imports) — 40.27% (2025)
• Computer, communications and other services (% of commercial service exports) — 11.76% (2025)
• Commercial service exports (current US$) — US$102.8 million (2025)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Tonga's international tourism, expenditures (current US$)?

US$38 million in 2020, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 2003?

It is up 187.88% from US$13.2 million in 2003 (6.42% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was US$44 million in 2019 and the lowest US$13.2 million in 2003.

How does Tonga rank?

120th highest of 129 economies with data for 2020.

Is the latest change in international tourism, expenditures (current US$) unusual for Tonga?

In 2020, Tonga's international tourism, expenditures (current US$) fell 13.6% on 2019 (from US$44 million to US$38 million). Across the 16 yearly changes before that (2004 to 2019), the average change was +9.2% and a typical year strayed about 18.2% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.3 standard deviations below that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator ST.INT.XPND.CD, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Yearbook of Tourism Statistics, Compendium of Tourism Statistics and data files, UN Tourism Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

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