Experts of the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) are confident that by 2033 the volume of the global tourism industry will increase by 50% compared to the results recorded in the pre-pandemic 2019. The turnover of this industry will be at least 15.5 trillion dollars, or 11.6% of the entire world economy.
As for the current situation, the top five countries with the main tourism income relative to their GDP in 2022 were the USA, China, Germany, Japan, and Great Britain. The positions of the leaders have not changed compared to the 2019 ranking. Strangely enough, according to WTTC, Italy is near the bottom of the global tourism industry rankings: the country of the Colosseum, the Grand Canal, and Vesuvius is in the list of 10 world’s countries with the most tourist attractions, but France and Mexico are ahead in the number of visitors. In addition, India and Spain are “snapping at Italy’s heels.”
The global tourism industry guarantees a constant increase in the number of jobs: by the end of 2023, the number of personnel should reach 430 million people, against 334 million in 2019. In other words, every ninth job in the world is provided by the tourism sector. “Analysts believe that global GDP should grow by 2.6% this year. We estimate that the travel and tourism industry will see an increase of 5.1 percent,” said Julia Simpson, President of WTTC Council.
Prior to the COVID pandemic, Chinese tourists accounted for 14.3% of global tourism spending. WTTC believes that Chinese tourist flow will return to pre-pandemic levels as early as 2024, and by 2033 Chinese tourist spending will account for 22.3% of global travel spending.
Finally, WTTC analysts predicted that in 10 years, the Chinese tourism industry will surpass that of the United States. In 2033, the Chinese tourism industry will generate $4 trillion per year, accounting for 14.1% of the entire Chinese economy. In the United States, the figures will be $3 trillion and 10.1 percent.