Travel and Tourism Industry Experiences Global Growth

WTTC’s annual Economic Impact Research proves the travel and tourism industry is a booming business.

The research indicated the industry was responsible for the creation of 7 million new jobs around the world. The report also found that 2017 was a big year for the global travel and tourism sector as a whole, which grew 4.6 percent—or 50 percent faster than the global economy as a whole, which experienced a growth rate of 3 percent in 2017.

“Travel and tourism creates jobs, drives economic growth and helps build better societies,” said Gloria Guevara, WTTC president and CEO. “Our research shows that our sector was responsible for the creation of one in five of all jobs globally."

"In the last few years, governments around the world are realizing the extraordinary benefits of tourism, and I congratulate them for taking steps to maximize our sector’s potential,” Guevara added.

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This is the seventh straight year the travel and tourism sector has outperformed the global economy. In 2017, it was the fastest-growing broad economic sector globally, showing stronger growth than all other sectors, including manufacturing (4.2 percent), retail and wholesale (3.4 percent), agriculture, forestry and fisheries (2.6 percent) and financial services (2.5 percent).

The growth of the travel and tourism sector bodes well for the global economy.

“We have seen increased spending as a result of growing consumer confidence, both domestically and internationally, recovery in markets in North Africa and Europe previously impacted by terrorism and continued outbound growth from China and India,” said Guevara. “This is great news for the millions of people who depend on our sector for their livelihoods.”

Europe was a highlight in the travel and tourism industry.

The region performed better than expected and posted a 4.8 percent growth rate as long-haul demand recovered, accompanied by strong intra-regional travel which benefitted from a strengthening European economy.

The air sector alone grew significantly. According to the International Air Transport Association in 2017, European airlines recorded passenger growth of 8.1 percent and more than 1 billion passengers for the first time.

North Africa continues to rebound from the impacts of terrorism in the region. Last year, the travel and tourism industry contributed to a 2.6 percent growth in GDP.

In particular, Egypt showed outstanding growth of almost 73 percent, and Tunisia also experienced a solid increase in tourism at 7.6 percent.

All regions of Asia are showing positive growth and continue to drive global tourism.

North East Asia grew at rate of 7.4 percent and South East Asia at 6.7 percent. China continued to lead the way, growing 9.8 percent over the last year.

WTTC research indicates that during the next 10 years, more than one-third of absolute GDP growth and nearly half of employment growth will be generated by China and India.

Latin America was one of the only weak spots in the tourism sector. The region showed a small decline, 1.4 percent, in tourism GDP in 2017. WTTC research indicates this is largely due to a contraction in international spend to its largest economy, Brazil, as well as ongoing turmoil in Venezuela.

Overall, forecasts suggest that this year will be another year of growth, although it will be at a slower rate due to higher oil prices.

The WTTC’s long-term outlook through 2028 remains unchanged, with an average growth of 3.8 percent per year over the next decade.

By 2028, forecasts suggest that the travel and tourism industry will support more than 400 million jobs globally.