Europe’s Tourism Recovery is Accelerating

A new report from the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) shows strong signs of economic recovery from travel and tourism in the five-city ‘powerhouses’ of Western Europe.

The Cities Economic Impact Report, sponsored by Visa and conducted in collaboration with Oxford Economics, examined key indicators such as the contribution of travel and tourism to GDP, employment, and traveller spending. The research looked at the industry’s impact in London, Paris, Berlin, Rome, and Madrid.

According to the report from the global tourism body, the Travel & Tourism sector contributed over USD83.5 billion to the economies of the five European capitals in 2019, and last year was only 15% lower at nearly USD71 billion.

Paris has recovered the fastest of the five capital cities, with the other four remaining 18% to 30% below 2019 levels, indicating slightly slower recoveries than the French capital. In Paris, the GDP contribution of the sector was USD38 billion in 2019, but by 2022, it had recovered to just 6% of pre-pandemic levels, at USD35.7 billion.

Although the sector’s GDP contribution to London is expected to be nearly USD15 billion in 2022, it is trailing Berlin in terms of recovery to 2019 levels. In 2022, the German capital’s contribution to the city’s economy was worth more than USD7.7 billion, an 18% decrease from 2019.

In 2022, Madrid’s GDP contribution was more than USD5.5 billion, a 24% decrease from 2019. However, Rome is experiencing the slowest recovery – 30% slower than in 2019 – with a sector contribution of nearly USD7 billion.

“Travelers are flocking back to Paris, London, Berlin, Madrid, and Rome,” said WTTC President & CEO Julia Simpson. Business travel is steadily increasing. And the reopening of China is bringing new visitors to cities across Europe. Tourists contribute significantly to the economy and job creation.

“It is crucial that the national and local governments continue to recognise the importance of Travel & Tourism for the local and national economies, jobs, and businesses.”

Jobs are becoming more plentiful

There were over 976,000 jobs in Travel & Tourism across the five cities prior to the pandemic.

In 2020, the five capitals’ job numbers fell by 41% to just over 580,000. The following year, job numbers increased by 13% to 654,000, and last year, job numbers increased by 23% to 807,000, just 17% less than the combined total in 2019.

With nearly 322,000 jobs in Travel & Tourism, Paris currently has the largest job market of the five capitals.

 

 

 

 

 

Source : ttrweekly

 

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