The World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) has announced the completion of its Travel & Tourism 2024 Economic Impact research, which forecasts a record-breaking year for the travel and tourism industry.
The organisation said, of the 185 countries analysed, 142 were expected to outperform previous national records on travel and tourism’s contribution to GDP.
The WTTC added that the sector would provide 348 million jobs in 2024, a 13,6 million increase from the high registered in 2019. However, international visitor spending will reach US$1,89 trillion (R35,19 trillion), falling below its 2019 peak of $1,91 trillion (R35,56 trillion). The slower recovery is likely due to the US and China seeing a far slower return on international tourist spend in 2024 compared with other countries.
“We need the US and Chinese governments to support their national travel and tourism sectors,” said Julia Simpson, WTTC President and CEO. She added that, without strong government interventions and support, these countries would continue to suffer while other countries were seeing international visitors return much faster.
Looking forward, the organisation added that the industry was set to continue growing and would employ 12,2% of the global workforce by the end of the decade.
“Travel and tourism is on the brink of its most transformative era yet, promising prosperity, innovation, and connection on a scale we’ve yet to see,” said the WTTC.
The full Travel & Tourism 2024 Economic Impact report and the country reports will soon be available on WTTC’s portal.
