A woman buys mangosteens in Sri Lanka. Asia has led the world tourism recovery in 2010, according to the UNWTO.

World tourism has rebounded strongly after a year punctuated by crisis management, an epidemic, and a natural disaster, with growth in 2010 led by Asia and the Middle East.

Despite the ostensible recovery, the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) urged caution, noting that some major developed nations have not yet fully emerged from the recesses of the financial crisis, AFP reported.

The global financial crisis met the tourism sector with a decline in arrivals of 4.2 per cent in 2009. In the first six months of 2010, international tourist arrivals totalled 421 million, up seven per cent on last year but still two per cent below the record year of 2008, the UNWTO report said.

April's modest growth is attributable to Iceland's volcanic ash crisis, which closed European airspace before strong results were again seen in May and June.

"Growth was positive in all world regions, led by a robust performance of emerging economies, expanding at eight per cent compared to six per cent in advanced economies," the report said.

The main drivers of the growth were Asia and the Pacific, where tourist arrivals were up 14 per cent in the first half of 2010, and the Middle East, where arrivals were up 20 per cent.

In Asia, particularly strong arrivals had been witnessed from Sri Lanka, Japan, Vietnam, Myanmar and Hong Kong.

Meanwhile, arrivals in the Americas were up seven per cent, whilst Europe experienced two per cent growth.

"Although we are witnessing a clear recovery in international tourism, we must remain cautious," UNWTO Secretary-General Taleb Rifai warned.

"In many advanced economies, namely in the USA and in some major European markets, economic recovery has still to consolidate."

UNWTO maintained its forecast of three to four per cent growth in international tourism for the whole of 2010.