【ChinaNews】WTCF Releases Report on World Tourism Economy Trends (2021)

On March 1st, 2021, the World Tourism Cities Federation (WTCF) released the Report on World Tourism Economy Trends (2021) in Beijing. As WTCF's fifth annual report on trends, it detailed a comprehensive analysis on the world tourism economic trends, changes to regional and developmental patterns, characteristics of major countries, developmental trends of key industries and strategies for recovery of global cities from a multitude of national, industrial, and municipal perspectives.

2020 was truly an eventful year. The globe was caught off guard by the COVID-19 pandemic and the hardest-hit industry was tourism which relies heavily on the movement and communication among people. Most countries and regions put a ban on travel so global tourism faced various challenges in the demand of consumption, investment, regional patterns, the industrial chain, business survival, and employment as a result.

As the world's first global tourism organization centered on cities, WTCF is devoted to the core concept of Better City Life through Tourism. The organization strives to promote cooperation and exchanges among global cities, improve their competitiveness and influence, while enhancing the continuous development of the world's tourism economy. Faced with daunting challenges amid the epidemic, WTCF and the Tourism Research Center of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences jointly conducted research on projections of the world's tourism sector in the year of 2021 and released the Report on the World Tourism Economy Trends (2021). The report depicts the latest research and insight into the developmental characteristics and trends of 20 major countries amid the epidemic, thus providing essential reference and support for the governments, relevant cities and the industry as a whole.

According to the report, amid the epidemic, the number of trips (both domestic and international) made around the world dropped by 40.8% year on year to 7,278 million in 2020. In the same year, the total revenues of global tourism decreased to 2.92 trillion dollars and accounted for 3.6% of the global GDP, showing a sharp decline and reaching the lowest level ever since the Second World War. However, it is predicted that the number of trips made around the world will reach 9,545 million in 2021, showing a year-on-year increase of 31.1%. Moreover, the total revenues of global tourism will climb back to 4.50 trillion dollars in 2021 and increase by 53.9%. The two numbers will account for 77.7% and 75.6% of the levels in 2019 respectively. Notably, domestic tourism will play a key role in promoting the growth of the world tourism economy.

Though the global epidemic is not entirely under control, the improvements in vaccinations around the world bring optimism, in addition to global tourism showing gradual signs of recovery. WTCF is fully confident in the revitalization of the industry and will continue to battle through this condition with those of kindred spirit and support.