The
Travel & Tourism
industry has outperformed the global
economy in 2012 – growing faster than
manufacturing, retail, financial services and communications.
The
industry has grown its
total contribution to GDP by 3% and increased the number of jobs by
five million to 260 million. It means that, for the first time, one
in 11 of all jobs
in the world are now supported by Travel &
Tourism. More than 10% of all
new jobs created in 2012 were from the
industry.
According
to the World Travel & Tourism Council’s (WTTC) economic
research, in 2012, Travel & Tourism’s total economic
contribution - taking account of its direct, indirect and induced
impacts - was US$6.6 trillion in GDP (a rise of US$500 billion
year-on-year), US$765 billion in investment and US$1.2 trillion in
exports* (all 2012 prices). This contribution represents 9% of total
GDP, 5% of total investment and 5% of world exports.
Among
the 20 largest global economies (the G20), South Korea, China, South
Africa and Indonesia performed
best. Growth of less than 1% in Europe and 2% in the United States
was counter-balanced by 10% growth in South Korea, 7% in China and
South Africa and 6% in Indonesia.
WTTC
is predicting the Travel & Tourism industry will
expand its total contribution to GDP by 3.2% in 2013, fasterthan
the 2.4% predicted for global economic growth. The industry is
expected to support nearly 266 million jobs in 2013 and again
outperform many other industries.
David
Scowsill, President & CEO of WTTC, said: “2012 demonstrated
again just how resilient the Travel & Tourism
industry is. Despite many economic difficulties, last year, for
the first time, we saw more than one billion international travellers
cross an International border. This industry is an
important driver for
countries’ economic development and growth strategies. Our industry
is responsible for creating jobs, lifting people out of poverty, and
broadening horizons. But we need international institutions and
governments to recognise its strength, to remove restrictive visa and
tax regimes and to
work with the private sector to stimulate that
growth.
David
Scowsill continued: “It is clear that the industry is
going to be a significant driver of global growth and
employment for the next decade. The
rise in emerging market destinations explains some
of the strong growth in T&T (particularly employment). As the
shift from a manufacturing to a services’ economy increases in many
countries, so the share of T&T employment out of total employment
will increase, as will the share of tourism’s contribution to total
GDP. Growing faster than any other economy is China. WTTC
forecasts that China will overtake the United States to be the
world’s biggest Travel and Tourism economy by 2023”.
WTTC
is publishing economic impact reports and forecasts on Travel &
Tourism’s contribution to GDP for 184 countries and for 24 regions.
