The World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) forecast a 4% year-on-year growth rate over the next 10 years for the tourism sector in Latin America, almost double compared to the growth of the total economy of the region, which is estimated to be 2.3% for the same period.
According to its latest Economic Impact Report (EIR), over the next decade, this industry will generate 5.5 million new jobs in the sector in Latin America, with a year-on-year growth rate of 3.2%.
Likewise, the report indicates that in 2021 the contribution of the travel and tourism sector to the GDP of Latin America represented 6.1% (213.4 billion dollars), which meant a growth of 26.5% compared to the previous year.
Julia Simpson, President, and CEO of the WTTC, stated: "With the global health crisis, the Travel & Tourism sector in Latin America has been seriously affected. However, as the global economy begins to recover from the devastating effects of the pandemic, the jobs generated by the tourism sector are beginning to increase".
The travel and tourism sector in Latin America, in 2019, contributed 288.1 billion dollars to the GDP, which represented 8.2% of the region's economy. However, in 2020, when the pandemic severely impacted the industry, their contribution fell by 41.4%.
In 2021, in Latin America, the level of employment in the travel and tourism sector increased by 8% compared to 2020, with which the sector generated 14.25 million jobs, which represented almost 7% of total jobs in the region. This last figure is only 1.1% below what was registered in 2019.
The regional contribution of the sector in 2021 was still 2.1% below the figure registered in 2019, with a difference of 74.7 billion dollars.
According to the Economic Impact Report (EIR), the contribution of the global travel and tourism sector to the world economy in 2021 reached $5.8 billion, which is a growth of more than 21.7% compared to the previous year. In this way, the sector represents 6.1% of the global economy.
In addition, travel and tourism contributed 289 million jobs in 2021, an increase of 6.7% from the previous year, adding more than 18.2 million new jobs in the sector.
In this sense, the world body continues to promote coordinated work between companies and authorities, as well as urging governments to remove restrictions and allow international travel, using digital solutions that make it easier for tourists to travel quickly, simply, and safely.
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