Tag Archives: World Travel & Tourism Council

According to the latest Economic Trends Report by the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), India has been ranked sixth in terms of travel and tourism’s contribution towards GDP. India contributed $178 billion towards GDP in 2021. The first position was secured by the United States with $1271.2 billion dollars contribution of travel and tourism towards GDP.

The recent Economic Impact Report of World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) highlighted that India’s contribution of travel and tourism for the economy of the country is expected to surpass the levels that existed before the pandemic times, registering a YOY progression of 20.7 per cent.

World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) research has shown that if the right measures are followed by governments across the world, travel and tourism jobs could surpass 2019 levels – up 20.1% year on year, to more than 349 million. Julia Simpson, WTTC President & CEO said, “Last year, 62 million travel & tourism jobs were lost globally, and our data shows a rise of a meagre 0.7% this year. If governments can start looking internationally and support travel & tourism with simplified rules to enable the safe return of travel, there is the opportunity to save jobs and boost economic wealth.”

The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) has launched a new report which reveals how destinations can grow responsibly, using the Destination Stewardship model. It lays out how destinations can balance the needs of visitors and residents, with the involvement of both the public and private sector based on the responsible use of shared or ‘common pool’ resources.

The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) is calling for governments to abandon the concept of ‘high-risk countries’ and instead focus on how individual ‘high-risk travellers’ are treated at borders. It urges governments around the world to redefine their whole approach to risk assessment, to revive international business and leisure travel.

The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) has outlined what the ‘new normal’ will look like as countries begin to end their COVID-19 lockdowns and ease travel restrictions. As travel gradually returns to normal over the coming months, WTTC predicts that the first to return will be domestic markets with staycations, then to a country’s nearest neighbours before expanding across regions, and then finally across continents to welcome the return of journeys to long-haul international destinations. WTTC also believes that younger travellers in the 18-35 age group, who appear to be less vulnerable to COVID-19, may also be among the first to begin travelling once again. The tourism council also informs that new protocols and standards are being defined following feedback and multiple conversations with WTTC members, as well as collaboration from associations who represent the different travel sectors.

The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) has launched a new marketing campaign, #TogetherInTravel, aimed at galvanizing the global travel and tourism community and showing how the sector is a vital part of our zest for life. The campaign, which went live on April 20, encourages travellers from around the world to share the hashtag #TogetherInTravel along with a video simultaneously uniting everyone in solidarity at the same moment. The marketing campaign comprises three key elements; a highly visual and emotive video; a hashtag, #TogetherInTravel, to stimulate the conversation across social platforms and a microsite, TogetherInTravel.com, to host the video and user generated content and stories. WTTC has developed the campaign in conjunction with one of its members. Gloria Guevara, President & CEO, WTTC, says, “Dreaming is part of our zest for life and our new campaign encourages thoughts of the brighter days ahead. Travel & Tourism is a critical sector to the global economy, accounting for one in four of all new jobs worldwide and contributing 10.3% to GDP. Our sector touches everyone. It builds communities, reduces poverty in the world and improves the social impact of everyday lives. Yet, we are uniquely exposed at this time due to COVID-19. The concept for the #TogetherInTravel campaign was born out of a desire to rally everyone who is passionate about travel, to unify those who are working hard to rebuild the sector and to spread a message of solidarity that we are one global community and one where travel brings us closer, at the right time. Our message is that everyone can still stay inspired with future travel ideas and bookings – and in the meantime be part of a virtual …

World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), in its annual Economic Impact Report (EIR), shows how big a part travel and tourism played in driving the economy in the region last year, based on which the findings reveal how vital the sector will be for the region’s economic recovery from COVID-19. It shows the sector supporting one in 10 (330 million) jobs, making a 10.3% contribution to global GDP and generating one in four of all new jobs. Gloria Guevara, President & CEO, WTTC, says, “WTTC’s 2019 Economic Impact Report (EIR) shows how intrinsic Travel & Tourism was last year to the economy in Asia-Pacific, making it the fastest growing region in the world in terms of its contribution to GDP, supporting more than 182 million jobs or 9.6% of the total number of people employed.”

The domestic contributions to travel and tourism reached 87 per cent in India, according to the World Travel & Tourism Council’s (WTTC) annual economic impact data. Ranking fourth in domestic visitor spending, it is worth noting the rapid development of the domestic travel and tourism market in India, which grew by US$83 billion and rose from the eighth to the fourth largest domestic market between 2008 and 2017. Unsurprisingly, the largest developed countries dominate the top spots in terms of absolute size of domestic spending. Domestic travel is the main driving force behind travel and tourism in major economies. Strong domestic tourism in most of these countries is driven by a growing or sizeable middle-class population, an increase in spending power among domestic consumers, the sheer size of the countries, governments’ initiatives in promoting new locations, and strong or improving transportation infrastructure and economic links between different internal regions. For instance, the Indian government plans to build 100 new airports with a budget of US$60bn over the next 10 to 15 years to accommodate and stimulate the demand for domestic travel.

In an attempt to bring  all organisations and individuals engaged in the rural tourism space under one umbrella, the Association for Rural Tourism in India (ARTI) has been unveiled during the International Conference on Rural Tourism Development held at Jamia Millia Islamia in Delhi. Satyajeet Rajan, Founding Member and Director General (Tourism), Government of India, launched the association amidst stalwarts and pioneers of rural tourism world over. On the occasion, Steve Borgia, Founding member and CMD, INDeco Hotels said that ARTI will unite all hoteliers, NGOs and individuals working in the space of rural tourism. “As a task long due, this association is not only meant to hand-hold the tourism initiative, but also share and sustain the efforts. It is also now very important  that we influence our governments at both the centre and the state along with NGOs to use rural tourism as a tool to mend the ailing backbone of our villages,” he said. Other founding members present at the occasion include SK Misra, Chairman, Indian Trust for Rural Heritage and Development and Former Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister of India; Sujit Banarjee, Secretary General, World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC); MP Bezbaruah, Former Secretary, Ministry for Tourism and Honorary Permanent Representative, UNWTO; Jose Dominic ,CEO, CGH Earth Group; Supratim Raj Basu, Founder & Director, Help Tourism.