Expected to create nearly 126 million new jobs within the next decade, says WTTC report
The global travel and tourism sectors are projected to return to pre-pandemic levels in 2023 and grow at a rate that will outpace global gross domestic product (GDP) growth, the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) said on Thursday.
The industry is expected to post an annual average growth rate of 5.8% from 2022 to 2032 versus the 2.7% increase in global GDP, and create 126 million new jobs, WTTC said in a report released during the industry group’s conference in Manila. Report reveals the Travel & Tourism sector is expected to create nearly 126 million new jobs within the next decade.
In 2019, tourism accounted for a tenth of global GDP and jobs but the coronavirus pandemic decimated the $9.6 trillion industry, halving its output value and leaving 62 million people jobless.
The bullish forecast from the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), which represents the global Travel & Tourism private sector, also shows the sector will be a driving force of the global economic recovery, creating one in three of all new jobs.
The prediction was delivered in the capital, Manila, before more than 1,000 delegates from across the global Travel & Tourism sector, including CEOs, business leaders, government ministers, travel experts and the international media.
“The recovery is going to be so stellar that it’s going to recover really powerfully. This does depend of course on China reopening,” said WTTC President Julia Simpson, calling on all governments to reopen borders.
And in additional grounds for optimism, the report also shows global Travel & Tourism GDP could reach pre-pandemic levels by 2023 – just 0.1% below 2019 levels. The sector’s contribution to GDP is expected to grow a massive 43.7% to almost US$ 8.4 trillion by the end of 2022, amounting to 8.5% of the total global economic GDP – just 13.3% behind 2019 levels.
China’s “zero COVID” policy and persistent lockdowns have disrupted global trade and domestic and international travel.
The travel and tourism industry’s GDP is seen hitting $8.35 trillion this year and $9.6 trillion in 2023, a return to its pre-pandemic level.
Tourism jobs are projected to recover to 300 million this year and 324 million in 2023, close to the 333 million seen in 2019, WTTC said.
In Asia-Pacific alone, the hospitality industry’s GDP will likely hit $3.4 trillion in 2023, already above the $3.3 trillion it saw in 2019, it said.
Compared with North America and Europe, travel has trailed in Asia-Pacific because of strict border restrictions in many countries. In Southeast Asia, travellers are now getting back on planes as the region’s entry and COVID-19 quarantine rules are lifted. But a full recovery will be slow, industry members say.