The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) brings together the global Travel and Tourism industry to work with governmental organizations. So it’s in their best interest to makes sure all stakeholders (the flying and traveling public, tax payers and governments) understand the huge contribution this sector makes to the global economy.  

So the WTTC produces reports and forecasts of the economic and employment impact of Travel & Tourism for 185 countries and 25 geographic or economic regions in the world. Their 10-year forecasts also provide a unique understanding of Travel & Tourism’s future growth, economic importance and social influence.

As they say, “These reports are a vital tool in helping us to equip public and private sector bodies with hard evidence of the huge value Travel & Tourism brings to the economy, so that their policy-making and investment decisions support our sector.”

Why it Matters to You

But it’s also very good information for anyone who travels a lot. It’s a great overview of the sector and where new opportunities and challenges will come from.

As a highlight, check out these stats we’ve pulled which show how Travel & Tourism’s contribution to world GDP outpaced the global economy for the seventh consecutive year in 2017.

• US$8.3 trillion contribution to the world’s GDP,
• 10.4% of global GDP 313 million jobs,
• 1 in 10 jobs around the world
• US$1.5 trillion exports (6.5% of total exports, 28.8% of global services exports)
• US$882 billion investment (4.5% of total investment)

The research shows that 2017 was a bumper year for the global Travel & Tourism sector, which grew at 4.6%, much faster than the economy as a whole (3% growth during 2017). Its role as a driver of prosperity is clear, as the sector created 7 million new jobs in 2017, 1 in 5 of all new jobs across the world.

Read more from the report here.