Global tourism rebounds strongly after Covid-19

Dhaka: Prior to the pandemic, the worldwide travel and tourism industry accounted for just over 10 per cent of global GDP. After a difficult 2020 and 2021, with, some false starts in the industry due to new variants of Covid-19, tourism is almost at a similar level now.

Julia Simpson, President and CEO of the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) said this at the global summit held in Riyadh from November 28 to December 1.

"Travel and tourism globally used to generate about USD 9.6 trillion (EUR 9.3 trillion) globally, and at this end of this year we’ll be back to about USD 8.4 – USD 8.5 trillion (EUR 8.1-EUR 8.2 trillion). And you might say, well, there's still a big trillion-dollar deficit there, but actually a lot of that is China. And China has yet to reopen.”

As previously, it is cities that are driving this. According to a report released by the WTTC, 82 international city destinations that were analysed accounted for almost half of all international visits, both as standalone destinations and as gateways to other tourism hotspots within countries.

Even amidst three difficult years, some cities have now surpassed their previous tourist revenue. In Europe, for example, Warsaw is expected to witness a significant 14 per cent increase in Travel and Tourism’s contribution to the city’s GDP, compared with 2019 levels.

Meanwhile, in the US, Orlando is projected to see a 10 per cent over that same period.

As the pandemic's effects further reduce and people’s concerns about mixing in public and in small places reduce, tourism may continue to benefit.