Qatar and Saudi Arabia were among the countries where the travel and tourism sector most distinctly outperformed the wider economy in 2015.
The latest global report from the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) indicates global developments including falling oil prices and volatile equity markets led many industries to witness falling revenues, however the travel and tourism industries have sustained themselves.
According to the WTTC report, travel and tourism contributed more than US $7.2 trillion to the world’s gross domestic product and added 7.2 million jobs in 2015.
Travel and tourism in the Middle East region saw 5.9% growth in contribution to GDP during the same year.
“Despite uncertainty in the global economy and specific challenges to travel and tourism last year, the sector grew by 3.7%, contributing a total of 9.8% to the global GDP,” says WTTC president and CEO David Scowsill.
The annual Economic Impact Report 2016 states that disease outbreaks, currency fluctuations and geopolitical challenges have impacted the sector at a country or regional level, but at the global level it demonstrated robust performance.
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Scowsill added that travel and tourism also supported a total of 284 million jobs in 2015, an increase of 7.2 million.
Qatar and Saudi Arabia were among the countries where the travel and tourism sector most distinctly outperformed the wider economy in 2015.
The WTTC outlook for 2016 indicated the sector’s total contribution to GDP is forecast to grow by 3.5%, down from last year’s 3.7%, however it is expected to outpace global economic growth for the sixth consecutive year.
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