WTTC claims that the travel and tourism industry is strongly rebounding in major European cities.

The London, United Kingdom: Strong indications of a recovery in the economic impact of travel and tourism in the five metropolitan “powerhouses” of Western Europe have been shown in a new research from the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC). .WTTC claims that the travel and tourism industry is strongly rebounding in major European cities.

The Travel & Tourism sector’s impact on GDP, employment, and traveler spending were examined in the Cities Economic Impact Report, which was sponsored by Visa and conducted in collaboration with Oxford Economics. The study looked at how the industry affected London, Paris, Berlin, Rome, and Madrid.
The report from the global tourism body shows that in 2019, the Travel & Tourism sector contributed over $83.5BN to the economies of the five European capitals, and last year was just 15% below 2019 at almost $71BN.
Paris has shown the strongest recovery of the five capital cities with the other four being 18% to 30% below 2019, demonstrating slightly slower recoveries than the French capital. In Paris, the sector GDP contribution was $38BN in 2019 but in 2022 it recovered to just 6% below pre-pandemic levels at an estimated $35.7BN.
London’s GDP contribution from this industry was approximately $15BN in 2022, although in terms of returning to 2019 levels, it lags Berlin by a little bit. Over $7.7BN, or 18% less than in 2019, was the German capital’s contribution to the local economy.
Madrid’s GDP contribution was more than $5.5BN in 2022, 24% below 2019, however Rome is witnessing the slowest recovery – 30% below 2019 levels with a sector contribution of al-most $7BN.
The WTTC’s president and CEO, Julia Simpson, noted that travelers were returning in droves to Paris, London, Berlin, Madrid, and Rome. Travel for business is steadily increasing. Additionally, the openness of China is attracting welcome tourists to towns all around Europe. The economy and job growth are both greatly boosted by tourists.

Governments at all levels must continue to recognize the value of travel and tourism for regional and national economies, employment opportunities, and enterprises.

An increase in jobs

Over 976,000 people were employed in travel and tourism in the five cities just before the epidemic.

The total number of jobs in the five major cities decreased by 41% in 2020 to little over 580,000. The next year, job numbers increased by 13% to 654,000, and last year, job numbers increased by another 23% to 807,000, which is only 17% less than the figure for all of 2019.

With around 322,000 jobs, Paris currently has the largest travel and tourism job market among the five capitals.

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