New Report Shows International Travel’s Comeback Successes

The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) and the Ministry of Tourism of Saudi Arabia unveiled a new report highlighting how and when the international travel and tourism industries will bounce back from the devastation associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.

The new WTTC report projects the travel sector’s recovery is set to be slower than expected this year, largely due to continued border closures and challenges linked to international mobility.

Data suggests tourism’s contribution to GDP is expected to rise by a modest 30.7 percent year-on-year in 2021, representing a $1.4 trillion increase. At the current recovery rate, travel’s contribution to GDP could see a similar rise of 31.7 percent in 2022.

The sector’s contribution to global GDP fell from nearly $9.2 trillion in 2019 to just $4.7 trillion in 2020, representing a loss of almost $4.5 trillion.

After an estimated 62 million jobs were lost in the travel and tourism industries as a result of the pandemic, the sector’s jobs are set to rise by 0.7 percent this year, representing only two million jobs, followed by an 18 percent increase next year.

“The Travel & Tourism sector is key for many livelihoods which continue to be affected by the failure to harmonize and standardize COVID-19 regulations worldwide,” WTTC President Julia Simpson said. “There is no excuse for a patchwork of regulations, countries need to join forces and harmonize the rules.”

“Many developing countries rely on international travel for their economy and have been left devastated,” Simpson continued.

The new report demonstrates how international border closures, uncertainty due to changing rules, the prohibitive cost of testing and the uneven vaccination rollout have hindered the recovery of the travel over the last 18 months.

In addition, WTTC officials said a recent survey found that only 66 percent of global tourists plan to travel abroad in the next six months, with only nine percent of respondents saying they’ve already booked an international vacation.