WTTC President David Scowsill in a statement said tourism added 7.2 million jobs to the global economy.
Scowsill, in the report, titled: ‘The economic impact report,’ which is WTTC’s flagship yearly research, stated that the document provided economic data on the contribution of the tourism sector on a global level.
The report said: “In spite of uncertainty in the global economy and specific challenges to tourism in 2015, the sector grew by 3.7 per cent, contributing a total of 9.8 per cent to the global GDP.’’
Travel supported 284 million jobs last year, an increase of 7.2 million, one in 11 jobs on the planet.
The WTTC chief said though terror attacks, disease outbreaks, currency fluctuations and geopolitical challenges have impacted the sector at a country or regional level, tourism at the global level continues to produce another robust performance.
He said travel contribution to GDP outpaced overall GDP country growth in 127 of the 184 countries covered by the research.
He listed the countries where tourism most markedly outperformed the wider economy last year to include Iceland, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Thailand and Uganda.
According to Scowsill, the sector’s growth was stimulated by a worldwide increase in middle-class income households, an ageing population, which tended to travel more, making travel more accessible and affordable.
The report however, said all regions of the world showed growth in total tourism contribution to GDP in 2015, adding that South-East Asia was the fastest growing region with growth of 7.9 per cent followed by South Asia, which grew 7.4 per cent.
