The travel and tourism sector is forecast to reach $9.5 trillion, just 5% below 2019 pre-pandemic levels when travel was at its highest.

At least 34 countries out of 185 have already exceeded 2019 levels in terms of GDP contribution, according to World Travel & Tourism Council’s (WTTC) 2023 Economic Impact Research.

Nearly half of the 185 countries will either fully recover to pre-pandemic levels or be within 95% of full recovery by the end of 2023.

Julia Simpson, WTTC President & CEO, said: “The travel and tourism sector continues to recover at pace, demonstrating the resilience of the sector and the enduring desire to travel. 

"By the end of the year, the sector’s contribution will be within touching distance of the 2019 peak. We expect 2024 to exceed 2019.” 

Despite the economic and geopolitical difficulties, the travel and tourism sector’s recovery continued at pace, growing 22% year-on-year to reach $7.7 trillion. 

The recovery represented 7.6% of the global economy in 2022, the highest sector contribution since 2019, but its global GDP is still 22.9% below the 2019 peak. 

The research found that the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and prolonged travel restrictions imposed by several countries, such as China, significantly impacted the global recovery. 

However, the recent decision by the Chinese government to reopen its borders from January will propel the sector and see it recover to pre-pandemic levels next year, the report added. 

Jobs return

From a pre-pandemic high of more than 334 million, the COVID-19 pandemic ravaged employment in the sector, which saw losses of more than 70 million to bring the total number employed in 2020 to just 264 million. 

Following the recovery of 11 million jobs in 2021, the sector created 21.6 million new jobs in 2022 to reach more than 295 million globally.

Higher spending

Spending from overseas visitors grew by 82% to reach $1.1 trillion in 2022, showing that international travel is firmly back on track. 

“The recovery will speed up this year as Chinese travellers re-enter the market and over the next 10 years, travel and tourism will continue to grow as a sector,” said Simpson.

WTTC predicts the sector’s contribution to the GDP will hit $15.5 trillion by 2033, representing 11.6% of the global economy and employing 430 million people worldwide.  

(Editing by Seban Scaria seban.scaria@lseg.com)