Culture

10 Travel Destinations for Post-Pandemic Life

Published

2 years ago

January 14, 2022

Marcus Lu

top travel destinations 2022

10 Travel Destinations for Post-Pandemic Life

On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization formally classified the COVID-19 outbreak as a pandemic. The resulting travel bans decimated the tourism industry, and international air travel initially fell by as much as 98%.

Almost two years later, travel is finally back on the table, though there are many restrictions to consider. Regardless, a survey conducted in September 2021 found that, as things revert to normalcy, 82% of Americans are looking forward to international travel more than anything else.

To give inspiration for your next vacation (whenever that may be), this infographic lists the 10 most visited countries in 2019, as well as three of their top attractions according to Google Maps.

Bon Voyage

Here were the 10 most popular travel destinations in 2019, measured by their number of international arrivals.

Country	Number of international arrivals in 2019 (millions)
🇫🇷 France*	90.0
🇪🇸 Spain	83.5
🇺🇸 U.S.	79.3
🇨🇳 China	65.7
🇮🇹 Italy	64.5
🇹🇷 Turkey	51.2
🇲🇽 Mexico	45.0
🇹🇭 Thailand	39.8
🇩🇪 Germany	39.6
🇬🇧 United Kingdom	39.4

*Estimate | Source: World Bank

France was the most popular travel destination by a significant margin, and it’s easy to see why. The country is home to many of the world’s most renowned sights, including the Arc de Triomphe and Louvre Museum.

The Arc de Triomphe was built in the early 1800s, and honors those who died in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. In 1944, Allied soldiers marched through the monument after Paris was liberated from the Nazis.

The Louvre Museum, on the other hand, is often recognized by its giant glass pyramid. The museum houses over 480,000 works of art, including Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa.

Art isn’t the only thing that France has to offer. The country has a reputation for culinary excellence, and is home to 632 Michelin-starred restaurants, the most out of any country. Japan comes in at second, with 413.

While You’re There…

After seeing the sights in Paris, you may want to consider a visit to Spain. The country is the southern neighbor of France and is known for its beautiful villages and beaches.

One of its most impressive sights is the Sagrada Familia, a massive 440,000 square feet church which began construction in 1882, and is still being worked on today (139 years in the making). The video below shows the structure’s striking evolution.

At a height of 172 meters, the Sagrada Familia is approximately 52 stories tall.

Another popular spot is Ibiza, an island off the coast of Spain that is famous for its robust nightlife scene. The island is frequently mentioned in pop culture—Netflix released an adventure/romance movie titled Ibiza in 2018, and the remix of Mike Posner’s song I Took a Pill in Ibiza has over 1.4 billion views on YouTube.

Beaches Galore

If you’re looking for something outside of Europe, consider Mexico or Thailand, which are the 7th and 8th most popular travel destinations. Both offer hot weather and an abundance of white sand beaches.

If you need even more convincing, check out these links:

Expect Turbulence

Under normal circumstances, hundreds of billions of dollars are spent each year by international tourists. According to the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTCC), this spending accounted for an impressive 10.4% of global GDP in 2019.

Travel restrictions introduced in 2020 dealt a serious blow to the industry, reducing its share of global GDP to 5.5%, and wiping out an estimated 62 million jobs. While the WTCC believes these jobs could return by 2022, the emerging Omicron variant has already prompted many countries to tighten restrictions once again.

To avoid headaches in the future, make sure you fully understand the rules and restrictions of where you’re heading.

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Culture

Ranked: Which Countries Drink the Most Beer?

Global consumption exceeded 185 million kiloliters in 2021, enough to fill more than 74,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools.

Published

2 weeks ago

September 8, 2023

Bruno Venditti

Visualizing Global Beer Consumption

Global beer consumption exceeded 185 million kiloliters in 2021, enough to fill more than 74,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools.

So, which countries drink the most beer?

This graphic uses data from Kirin Holdings to compare global beer consumption by country. The Japanese company has been tracking beer consumption around the world since 1975.

Which Countries Drink the Most Beer?

Every region in the world increased its overall beer consumption in 2021 compared to 2020, with global consumption rising by 4%.

Asia holds a 31% share of the global beer market, remaining the world’s largest beer-consuming region over the last 14 years.

Rank	Country	Total Consumption (thousand kl)	Market Share
1	🇨🇳 China	38,093	20.5%
2	🇺🇸 U.S.	24,170	13.0%
3	🇧🇷 Brazil	14,540	7.8%
4	🇷🇺 Russia	8,937	4.8%
5	🇲🇽 Mexico	8,660	4.7%
6	🇩🇪 Germany	7,584	4.1%
7	🇬🇧 United Kingdom	4,608	2.5%
8	🇯🇵 Japan	4,188	2.3%
9	🇻🇳 Vietnam	4,159	2.2%
10	🇪🇸 Spain	4,131	2.2%

China was the largest beer-consuming country for the 19th consecutive year.

The tradition of brewing and enjoying beer in China spans approximately nine millennia. Recent archaeological discoveries have revealed that as far back as 7000 BC, ancient Chinese communities were engaged in producing beer-like alcoholic beverages, primarily on a small and localized basis.

China was also the leading producer of beer in 2022, followed by the United States.

Beer Consumption Per Capita

When examining per capita beer consumption, Asia falls behind Europe. In fact, nine of the top 10 consumers of beer per capita are European nations.

The Czech Republic remains the leader in per capita beer drinking for the 29th year. In 2021, the average Czech drank more than 184 liters of beer.

Rank	Country	Per Capita Beer Consumption (volume in liters)	Total Consumption (thousand kl)
1	🇨🇿 Czech Republic	184.1	1,969
2	🇦🇹 Austria	98.7	888
3	🇱🇹 Lithuania	96.3	260
4	🇷🇴 Romania	95.6	1,826
5	🇵🇱 Poland	94.1	3,557
6	🇪🇪 Estonia	91.4	119
7	🇩🇪 Germany	90.4	7,584
8	🇪🇸 Spain	88.5	4,131
9	🇳🇦 Namibia	85.7	223
10	🇭🇷 Croatia	82.4	338

The Czech Republic is known for its affordable beer. In some parts of the country, beer can even cost less than bottled water.

Small Brewers and Technology

Beer production is expected to rise over the next decade, boosted by new smaller brewers, particularly in Western countries.

Investments have also been made in new technology to expedite the brewing process, including the utilization of ‘BeerBots’ capable of accelerating the fermentation process.

According to Future Market Insights, the global beer market is projected to be valued at $690 billion in 2023, rising to $996 billion by 2033.