Bringing back international travel and tourism to help them stand on their feet again, is vital to enhance the globe’s post-pandemic economy. A research paper shows important correlations between WTTC’s Economic Impact and SPI’s Social Progress Index. China, Cambodia, Rwanda, and Sri Lanka are amongst the biggest beneficiaries.
Therefore, based on this paper, travel and tourism develops communities at a faster rate than the overall economy. For instance, between 2011 and 2019, Southeast Asia recorded the fastest annual progress rate in travel and tourism. The scores are 6.7 per cent compared to the region’s 3.7 per cent overall economic progress. Adding up to that, the Middle East saw 3 per cent travel and tourism GDP per capita growth compared to just 0.3 per cent for the overall region’s economy.
According to this information, we can now understand the impact of the travel and tourism industry on professions. This comprehension is something that should not be ignored or cast aside. Generally, a job is created for every 34 international visitors to a destination. However, the impact is far greater in places like Africa, Asia-Pacific and the Middle East, where it only takes 11, 13 and 24 international visitors, to create one new job.
This research done by WTTC and SPI has revealed that when a certain touristic event occurs, it generates $1 directly. If that happens, more than $2 would be expected to boost up the economy.
In the end, Gloria Guevara, WTTC’s President mentioned that “WTTC is proud to release this important research focusing on social impact, which highlights how critical travel and tourism is to our world. Travel and tourism are one of the most diverse sectors, employing people from all socio-economic backgrounds regardless of age, gender or ethnicity, with almost 54 per cent of whom are women and up to 30 per cent youths.”