European travel tourism sector recovering strongly
Travel Biz News –
The EU travel and tourism sector is forecast to reach 98 per cent of the 2019 peak, according to Economic Impact Research 2023 revealed by the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC).
The sector is set to contribute €1.44BN to the economy this year, edging close to the 2019 pre-pandemic high of €1.47BN.
WTTC is also forecasting that the sector will create more than 687K jobs this year, recovering almost 90% of the jobs lost due to the COVID-19 pandemic to reach more than 22.4MN, with one in nine workers across the EU, in the travel and tourism sector.
Last year, the sector’s GDP contribution grew by 40.5% to reach more than €1.37BN, representing 8.7% of the Bloc’s economy, edging closer to the 2019 high of 9.6% of the economy.
Last year the sector also created 2MN more jobs from the previous year to reach 21.8MN jobs – one in ten across the EU.
According to the global tourism body’s annual research, the sector has now recovered 3.1MN of the 3.6MN jobs lost during the pandemic.
Last year also saw the return of international travellers heading to the EU with spending from overseas visitors growing 81% year on year, to reach almost €385BN.
Domestic visitor spending fully recovered in 2022, exceeding the pre-pandemic high of €809BN, to reach €814BN.
“The Travel & Tourism sector in the EU is recovering strongly with high visitor demand. Tourism is a key economic growth sector and driver of jobs in the EU due to the importance of the sector in so many countries such as Germany, Italy, Spain, and France, “said Julia Simpson, WTTC President, and CEO.
The global tourism body is forecasting that the sector will grow its GDP contribution to almost €1.9BN by 2033, more than 10% of the EU economy and will employ over 26.3MN people across the region, with one in eight EU residents working in the sector.
Photo : WTTC
