WTTC: Travel industry needed for strong economy

A full economic recovery from the Covid-19 crisis in the Americas will depend on the travel sector being viable, said the World Travel & Tourism Council.

A new WTTC report says that travel and tourism accounted for 8.8% of the total economy in the Americas and approximately 45 million jobs, or 9.8% of the total workforce. International visitor spending totaled $324 billion, representing 7.3% of all exports.

“Over the coming months, it will be crucial to call upon governments all over the world to ensure the survival of travel and tourism -- which currently has up to 75 million jobs at immediate risk globally with up to 5.9 million at risk in the USA alone,” said WTTC CEO Gloria Guevara in a statement. “Once this pandemic is at an end, producing new jobs and bringing business and leisure travelers back will encourage suppliers of all sizes to restore their efforts to meet the demand.”

Data in the 2020 Economic Impact Report shows that the domestic travel sector will be critical to recovery with 81% of travel spending attributed to domestic versus 19% to international.

Globally, the travel and tourism sector supports 1 in 10 jobs for a total of 330 million jobs, making a 10.3% contribution to global GDP and generating one in four of all new jobs.