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Travel, tourism global contribution to hit record $11.1tn in 2024: WTTC

In 2023, the travel and tourism sector accounted for 9.1 per cent share of the global GDP with a workforce of nearly 330 million

by Gulf Business

April 5, 2024

Image: Getty Images

The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) has predicted a banner year for the travel and tourism sector in 2024, with the industry’s global economic contribution expected to reach a whopping $11.1tn trillion – an all-time high.

The strong performance in 2023, with a 9.1 per cent share of global GDP and a workforce of nearly 330 million, set the stage for a record-breaking 2024.

The WTTC’s latest 2024 Economic Impact Research (EIR), brought out in partnership with Oxford Economics, has forecast a $770bn increase over the previous record.

Of the 185 countries analysed in the report, 142 are expected to surpass their pre-pandemic tourism peaks.

The sector is also projected to support nearly 348 million jobs globally, exceeding 2019’s peak by over 13.6 million.

International travel spend sees a rebound

International visitor spending is expected to reach $1.89tn, nearing the 2019 peak, while domestic tourism spending is forecast to hit a record high of $5.4tn.

International visitor spending registered a 33.1 per cent jump in 2023 but remained 14.4 per cent below the 2019 total.

Despite economic and geopolitical challenges, the sector continues to thrive, exceeding its pre-pandemic economic contribution by nearly $10tn.

According to the WTTC, while the global picture is bright, the US and China, two major tourism markets, are experiencing a slower rebound in international visitor spending.

WTTC’s EIR 2024 also predicted a bright future for the travel and tourism sector over the next decade, with robust growth and significant job creation.

By 2034, the sector is expected to contribute a staggering $16tn to the global economy, representing 11.4 per cent of GDP, and employing 449 million people worldwide.

Air travel demand rises in February, reports IATA

In other news, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) reported a significant increase in air travel demand for February.

Passenger demand, measured in revenue passenger kilometres (RPKs), climbed 21.5 per cent year-over-year. This growth outpaced the increase in available seat kilometres (ASKs), which rose 18.7 per cent YoY.

As a result, the load factor, a measure of how full aircraft are, reached 80.6 per cent, which is 1.9 percentage points higher than February 2023.

The rise in demand was strong for international travel. Compared to February 2023, international passenger demand surged by 26.3 per cent. While international seat capacity also increased (25.5 per cent YoY), the load factor for international flights still improved slightly to 79.3 per cent.

Domestic travel also saw healthy growth, with demand rising 15 per cent year-over-year.

However, domestic seat capacity only grew by 9.4 per cent YoY. This imbalance led to a significant increase in the domestic load factor, which reached 82.6 per cent in February 2024, a 4 percentage point jump compared to the same period last year.