An Update on Travel & Tourism in Key Destinations

The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) shared recent news on several countries in its latest Economic Impact Report, signaling the travel and tourism industries in countries such as Japan, South Korea, South Africa and others are expected to grow and recover at unprecedented rates.

The Economic Impact Report highlighted the countries of Japan, South Korea, South Africa, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia and Nigeria. These six countries are anticipating high growth in their respective travel and tourism industries, creating millions of new jobs and outpacing other sectors of their individual economies.

Each country-specific report noted that each country's economic recovery would have been faster had the Omicron variant not inspired a return to certain travel restrictions worldwide.

The WTTC's latest forecast predicts that Japan's travel and tourism industry could just touch its pre-pandemic levels by as early as next year, reaching a contribution to the country's GDP of 40 trillion Japanese yen, just 2.2 percent less than in 2019.

The industry is also expected to grow on average 2.6 percent each year for the next decade, surpassing the 0.7 percent growth rate for Japan's economy. It is expected to contribute to 7.8 percent of Japan's entire economy. By the end of this year alone, travel and tourism is expected to make up 6.5 percent of the entire Japanese GDP.

By the end of 2032, employment in the sector is expected to grow 68,000 new jobs annually, for a total of 683,000 new jobs, employing a total of 6.2 million.

"After the pain suffered by Japan's Travel & Tourism, the outlook for the future is much brighter.Following two years of restrictions to mobility, which damaged the sector, there are reasons for optimism as the sector is finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel," said Julia Simpson, WTTC's President & CEO. "But there is still work to be done. Removing testing and facilitating international travel will further boost the sector's growth and fast-track the recovery."