Vanuatu: International tourism, receipts for passenger transport items (current US$)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2020, Vanuatu's international tourism, receipts for passenger transport items (current US$) fell 70.6% on 2019 (from US$17 million to US$5 million).

Across the 21 yearly changes before that (1999 to 2019), the average change was +4.3% and a typical year strayed about 23.4% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 3.2 standard deviations below that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 50% in 2002 and the biggest yearly fall was 70.6% in 2020. 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 downward, about US$1.5 million a year. A straight line explains 34% 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, Vanuatu had the 99th highest value of the 117 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 Vanuatu in the 2020 ranking

• Gambia, The — 98th of 117: US$6 million
• Bahamas, The — 99th of 117: US$5 million
• Malawi — 100th of 117: US$5 million
• Suriname — 102nd of 117: US$4 million
• Angola — 103rd of 117: US$3 million
• Ecuador — 104th of 117: US$3 million

What this measures

International tourism receipts for passenger transport items are expenditures by international inbound visitors for all services provided in the international transportation by resident carriers. Also included are passenger services performed within an economy by nonresident carriers. Excluded are passenger services provided to nonresidents by resident carriers within the resident economies; these are included in travel items. In addition to the services covered by passenger fares--including fares that are a part of package tours but excluding cruise fares, which are included in travel--passenger services include such items as charges for excess baggage, vehicles, or other personal accompanying effects and expenditures for food, drink, or other items for which passengers make expenditures while on board carriers. Data are in current U.S. dollars.

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

All 23 values

International tourism, receipts for passenger transport items (current US$) in nearby economies

• Australia — US$567 million (2020)
• Cambodia — US$96 million (2020)
• Fiji — US$85 million (2020)
• French Polynesia — US$294 million (2016)
• Hong Kong SAR, China — US$6.33 billion (2019)
• Indonesia — US$221 million (2020)
• Japan — US$798 million (2020)
• Korea, Rep. — US$1.25 billion (2020)

More private sector & trade data for Vanuatu

• Merchandise imports (current US$) — US$515 million (2025)
• Merchandise exports (current US$) — US$78 million (2025)
• Merchandise exports to high-income economies (% of total merchandise exports) — 50.98% (2023)
• Merchandise exports by the reporting economy, residual (% of total merchandise exports) — 0% (2023)
• Merchandise exports by the reporting economy (current US$) — US$62.98 million (2023)
• Merchandise imports from high-income economies (% of total merchandise imports) — 68.32% (2023)
• Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in East Asia & Pacific (% of total merchandise imports) — 30.48% (2023)
• Merchandise imports by the reporting economy, residual (% of total merchandise imports)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Vanuatu's international tourism, receipts for passenger transport items (current US$)?

US$5 million in 2020, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1998?

It is down 58.33% from US$12 million in 1998 (3.9% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was US$32 million in 2016 and the lowest US$5 million in 2020.

How does Vanuatu rank?

99th highest of 117 economies with data for 2020.

Is the latest change in international tourism, receipts for passenger transport items (current US$) unusual for Vanuatu?

In 2020, Vanuatu's international tourism, receipts for passenger transport items (current US$) fell 70.6% on 2019 (from US$17 million to US$5 million). Across the 21 yearly changes before that (1999 to 2019), the average change was +4.3% and a typical year strayed about 23.4% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 3.2 standard deviations below that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator ST.INT.TRNR.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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