Research reveals travel and tourism industry recovery of more than 95 per cent
Gross domestic product (GDP) contribution will be five per cent off its 2019 peak by the end of 2023
The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), a forum for the travel and tourism industry, published its 2023 Economic Impact Research (EIR) revealing that the travel and tourism sector is closing in on its 2019 peak, recovering by more than 95 per cent.
The sector is forecast to reach $9.5 trillion, five per cent lower than pre-pandemic levels in 2019 when travel was at its highest. So far, 34 countries have already exceeded 2019 levels.
The research, conducted by the WTTC in collaboration with Oxford Economics, also forecasts a recovery to of 95 per cent of the 2019 job levels.
Travel and tourism grew by almost a quarter last year
The travel and tourism sector’s recovery continued at pace in 2022, growing by 22 per cent year-on-year to reach $7.7 trillion in spite of economic and geopolitical difficulties.
Although its global GDP is still 22.9 per cent below its peak in 2019, the recovery represented 7.6 per cent of the global economy in 2022, the highest sector contribution since 2019.
The global sector expanded by a quarter (24.7 per cent) in 2021, and by another 22 per cent last year to contribute $7.7 trillion to the GDP.
According to the research, travel restrictions enforced by some nations, including China, during the ongoing conflict in Ukraine had a substantial influence over the global recovery.
The WTTC predicts that the sector will be propelled and return to pre-pandemic levels next year as a result of the Chinese government's recent decision to reopen its borders starting in January.
Travel sector employment is recovering
The Covid-19 pandemic decimated employment in the industry, seeing losses of more than 70 million jobs after a pre-pandemic high of more than 334 million, decreasing the total number of people employed in 2020 to just 264 million.
After the recovery of 11 million jobs in 2021, 21.6 million jobs were created in 2022. This brings the total number of jobs globally to 295 million which is one in 11 jobs worldwide.
International tourism is back on track as seen in the spending from overseas visitors which increased by a record 82 per cent, reaching $1.1 trillion.
Travel industry figures will surpass 2019 next year
According to the global tourism body, by 2023 the sector will provide $15.5 trillion to the global economy. This is 11.6 per cent of the entire economy. It will employ 430 million people worldwide – 12 per cent of the working population.
The most recent EIR additionally shows that 34 of 185 examined nations have reached their pre-pandemic GDP contribution levels.
Nearly half of the 185 nations will, according to the WTTC, either have fully returned to pre-pandemic levels by the end of 2023 or will be within 95 per cent of full recovery.
Julia Simpson, WTTC President & CEO, stated: “The travel and tourism sector continues to recover at pace, demonstrating the resilience of the sector and the enduring desire to travel.
“By the end of the year, the sector’s contribution will be within touching distance of the 2019 peak. We expect 2024 to exceed 2019. Travel and tourism will be a growth sector over the next ten years,” he added.