According to a new report from the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), the US remains the biggest tourism market worldwide, with China and Germany taking second and third places in the rankings.

The US travel and tourism sector contributed USD 1,217.2 billion to GDP (5.5 %).

These are the top ten tourism markets in terms of GDP:

1. USA             1,271.2 (contribution to GDP in USD, billion)

2. China           814.3

3. Germany     251.0

4. Japan          206.3

5. Italy             179.0

6. India            178.0

7. France         177.9

8. Mexico        168.8

9. UK               157.5

10. Spain         113.1

Loss of jobs in 2020

Before the pandemic, travel and tourism (including direct, indirect, and induced impacts) was one of the world’s largest sectors, accounting for one in four of all new jobs created in the world; 10.3% of all jobs (333 million) and 10.3% of global GDP (USD 9.6 trillion).

Due to COVID-19, 62 million jobs were lost in 2020, leaving just 271 million employed across the sector globally. This 18.6% decrease was felt across the entire industry, which suffered losses of almost USD 4.9 trillion. Its global contribution to GDP declined by 50.4% year-on-year, compared to a 3.3% global economic decline.

Tourism sector on the rise

In 2021 we saw the beginning of the recovery for the global tourism sector: the contribution to GDP increased by USD 1 trillion (+21.7% rise) in 2021 to reach USD 5.8 trillion, while the sector’s share of the whole economy grew from 5.3% in 2020 to 6.1% in 2021. Additionally, the industry recovered 18.2 million jobs, representing an increase of 6.7%.

Travel and tourism GDP is set to grow by 5.8% annually between 2022 and 2032, outpacing the overall economy’s growth (2.7% per year). WTTC data shows that this sector´s GDP could return to 2019 levels by the end of 2023.