New Delhi (NVI): India’s travel and tourism GDP (gross domestic product) grew by 6.7 per cent, as compared to the global growth of 3.9 per cent, making it the third largest country to mark such growth in the travel industry after Turkey and China, according to a study conducted by World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC).
The global travel and tourism GDP grew by 3.9% in 2018-19, in which India’s contribution was about USD 247 billion, making it the eighth largest contributor among the fifteen countries including USA, China and Japan said study.
According to the study, USA with USD 1,595 bn, China with USD 1,509 bn, Japan with USD 368 bn, Germany with USD 345 bn and UK with USD 311 bn were among the top five contributors in 2018 which collectively representing 47 per cent of the global travel & tourism GDP.
The world tourism contribution to the overall global GDP was 10.4% (USD 8.8 trillion), said study adding that the Tourism industry had supported 319 million jobs in 2018, which is 10% of global employment.
As per the study, the division of overall spend is firmly weighted towards the leisure market, which represented 78.5% of the total compared with 21.5% for business spend, and the sector accounted for 6.5% of total global exports and 27.2% of total global service exports. Domestic tourism, which represented 71.2% of all tourism spending in 2018 had the strongest growth in developing nations and continues to support opportunities by spreading development and regional economic benefits and building national pride.
The continuous rise in the number of middle-class households and the solid growth in global consumer spending once again enabled the travel and tourism sector growth to reach 3.9%, outpacing the global economy for the eighth consecutive year, said the study.
Across the regions in 2018, Asia-Pacific remained a strong performer, growing by 6.4%, but North Africa’s performance with 8.6% year on year growth is particularly notable. This growth not only showcases the sector’s resilience and capacity to bounce back from security shocks but also its ability to spread its benefits widely across the world.
–ps
