Madrid, Spain ? Revenues from international tourism shrank 2.6 percent last year because the Sept. 11 attacks “severely aggravated” the effect of a global economic slowdown, the World Tourism Organization said Tuesday.

The United States was among the hardest-hit countries, with its earnings from foreign tourists falling by 11.9 percent and the total number of visitors from abroad dipping 10.6 percent.

Although the global downturn was worse than forecast in the aftermath of the attacks, the organization insisted the tourism sector was “resilient and stable” and would return to growth by the end of this year.

The decrease in the total number of international tourist trips dropped by only 0.6 percent from 697 million in 2000 to 692 million last year.

France remained the No. 1 tourist destination by drawing 76.5 million visitors, followed by Spain at 49.5 million. The United States slid from second to third place with 45.5 million.