The travel and tourism sector is approaching 2019 levels, having recovered by more than 95%, and will continue to grow rapidly over the next ten years and increase its turnover. A study by the World Travel and Tourism Council predicted a positive future for the industry.
Data shows that this year, the turnover of funds within the sector will reach $9.5 trillion, which is 5% below the level before the pandemic. At the same time, 34 countries have already exceeded the indicators of 2019. In 2022, the tourism industry will grow by 22% to reach $7.7 trillion, representing 7.6% of the global economy in the same year. These are the highest figures recorded by the industry since 2019, although its global GDP is still 22.9% below its 2019 peak.
According to research, the sector lost about 70 of its more than 334 million workers before the pandemic. In 2020, the total number of people employed in tourism was only 264 million. Most jobs were lost in the first year of the pandemic. 11 million jobs were added in 2021 and another 21.6 million in 2022 to reach 295 million workers worldwide. This is every eleventh working person in the world.
In this regard, the President and CEO of the World Travel and Tourism Council, Julia Simpson, noted the confident trends for recovery, strengthening, and growth of the industry. “By the end of the year, the sector’s contribution will be at arm’s length from the maximum of 2019. We expect to exceed the 2019 level in 2024. Travel and tourism will grow in the next ten years,” she said.
In addition, the organization predicts that the sector’s contribution to GDP will reach $15.5 trillion, or 11.6% of the global economy. And the number of people employed in tourism and travel will reach 430 million people worldwide, or about 12% of the global workforce.