The travel and tourism industry in Russia is bigger than automotive manufacturing industry and directly supports almost as many jobs as the financial sector, according to a report from the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC). The research was sponsored by American Express and TUI AG and was released during a speech at the Moscow International Travel Forum in Russia by David Scowsill, president and CEO of WTTC.

The research, undertaken by Oxford Economics, shows that travel’s total contribution to GDP in Russia was RUB3.4 trillion ($106 billion) in 2011, or 5.9 percent of total GDP, compared to 4.8 percent for automotive manufacturing, 2.9 percent for communications services and 3.3 percent for chemical manufacturing. Supporting 4 million direct, indirect and induced jobs, travel in Russia generates more employment than the chemical industry and nearly as many jobs as the financial services sector. The sector will also grow by an average of 4 percent per annum over the next 10 years, a faster growth rate than the total economy.

In 2011, visitor exports totaled RUB517.2 billion ($16 billion). This was 30 percent of all service exports and 3 percent of all exports including goods and services. 2013 is an important year for the Russian’s tourism industry as the country hosts the next T20 Tourism Ministers’ meeting and in the lead up to the Winter Olympics due to take place in Sochi in 2014, and the FIFA World Cup in 2018.