Travel and tourism is a healthy sector with a decade of booming success ahead, according to one of the world’s foremost industry bodies. The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) is anticipating a bumper year for travel and tourism in 2024, with the industry well beyond recovery and its overall contribution to the global economy expected to reach a record-breaking $11.1 trillion by the end of the year.
One dollar in 10 down to tourism
According to the global tourism body’s latest Economic Impact Research (EIR) report, 2023 saw travel and tourism generate 9.1% of global GDP (just over $9.9 trillion). The success of the industry last year, despite the lag in the US and Chinese markets, which remain 25% and 60% behind 2019’s figures respectively, inspires confidence that the sector can go ahead and add an additional $770 billion to its previous record, the Council predicts, generating one in every 10 dollars globally and making itself felt as an industry to be reckoned with.
“Against the backdrop of uncertainty, the Travel & Tourism sector remains a global economic powerhouse,” said Julia Simpson, WTTC President & CEO. “This isn’t just about breaking records. We’re no longer talking about a recovery – this is a story of the sector back at its best after a difficult few years, providing a significant economic boost to countries around the world and supporting millions of jobs.”
The US and Chinese sectors need support
Nonetheless, Simpson also called for “the US and Chinese governments to support their national travel and tourism sectors. The US and China will continue to suffer whilst other countries are seeing international visitors return much faster.”
The body reports that 142 countries out of 185 analysed are expected to beat previous national records for travel and tourism income, and the sector now supports nearly 350 million jobs around the world, 13.6 million more than in 2019. What’s more, international visitor spending is looking likely to match 2019’s high of $1.89 trillion and domestic tourist spending looks set to beat every year on record so far at $5.4 trillion.
A decade of robust growth ahead
The release also looked ahead and predicts a decade of “robust growth” and “unparalleled career opportunities” with the sector bringing a whopping $16 trillion to the world economy by 2034 (11.4%) and employing nearly 450 million people by then, which represents 12.2% of the global workforce.
