The U.N. World Tourism Organization has said there were 980 million tourists in 2011 with Europe the top destination garnering some 503 million visitors. Asia-Pacific was the next most visited region with 255 million followed by the Americas with 156 million visitors-100 million to North America. The Middle East received 55 million visitors, down 8 percent on 2010 figures due to the uprisings in North Africa. Despite the fall in numbers, there was an increase in visitors to Oman, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, the U.N. agency said. The agency said it expects tourism numbers to hit 1 billion in 2012.
