Tourism Remains Resilient Despite Terrorism, Economy

Image: PHOTO: Seine River, Paris, France. (Photo courtesy Thinkstock)
Image: PHOTO: Seine River, Paris, France. (Photo courtesy Thinkstock)
Janeen Christoff
by Janeen Christoff
Last updated: 5:00 PM ET, Wed August 24, 2016

The global economy, terrorism and events such as Brexit are changing tourism, but they aren't slowing it down.

In the update of its Economic Impact Reports 2016, the World Travel and Tourism Council predicted spending by travelers this year would rise 3.1 percent, but pointed out that is better than global economic growth, which is forecast to be 2.3 percent this year, according to Euronews.

WTTC president David Scowsill noted that "the Paris incident did have an impact because it's the first point of entry to Europe for a lot of Asian and North American travelers."

In an article on Fox News, Scowsill also noted that rather than canceling plans, travelers just changed them.

"Travelers aren't going to allow isolated terrorist attacks to put them off traveling," he said. Tourists worried about safety in France have chosen Spain or Italy instead, for example, reported Fox.

Other organizations have found that there is a softening in the demand for travel and tourism.

Fox News reported that, in April, the Global Business Travel Association warned of slowing volume from U.S.-originating business travelers.

[READMORE] READ MORE: WTTC Revises Travel Forecast Downward [/READMORE]

It also said that the International Air Transport Association recently noted that, while more people are flying, the upward trend "has moderated since January" and the percent of seats occupied has actually slipped slightly.

However, the WTTC breaks down the discourse noting that not each part of the world is affected in the same way.

For a full breakdown of how the WTTC predicts travel will grow and shrink, go here.


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Janeen Christoff

Janeen Christoff

Executive Editor - AGENTatHOME | TravelPulse Content Strategy

Editor Executive Editor - AGENTatHOME | TravelPulse Content Strategy true [email protected] 9088 14744 Janeen Christoff caught the travel bug while living in London, England. After two years on the road, she settled in Los Angeles and focused her writing on

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