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France, U.S. and Spain rank as top 3 travel destinations

Dave Lawler, author of World

The view from Eze, in the French Riviera. Photo: Andia/ UIG via Getty Images

People around the world are traveling more: There were 1.2 billion international tourism arrivals in 2016, according to the UN's World Tourism Organization. That number is climbing steadily and has about doubled since 2003.

The big picture: They’re going to a lot of the same places. Since 1995, China (7th to 4th), Germany (11th to 7th), Turkey (15th to 10th) and Thailand (16th to 9th) have jumped in the global destination rankings, while Poland (8th to 19th) and Canada (10th to 17th) have fallen. Otherwise, things look just about the same.

Top 10 destinations, by international arrivals:

  1. France: 83 million
  2. USA: 76 million
  3. Spain: 73 million
  4. China: 59 million
  5. Italy: 52 million
  6. UK: 36 million
  7. Germany: 36 million
  8. Mexico: 35 million
  9. Thailand: 33 million
  10. Turkey: 30 million

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Migrants cross the Rio Bravo to get to El Paso, Texas. Photo: Herika Martinez/AFP via Getty Images

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Why it matters: The current backup is yet another sign of a brewing crisis for President Biden — and a worsening dilemma for these vulnerable children. Biden is finding it's easier to talk about preventing warehousing kids at the southern border than solving the problem.

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Mike Pompeo in Washington on Feb. 12. Photo: Samuel Corum/Getty Images

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Why it matters: The former secretary of state is widely considered a potential 2024 presidential contender. His professional moves this week indicate he's working to keep his name in the headlines and bolster a political brand built largely on foreign policies easily contrasted with the Biden White House.

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