(TAN): The recovery of the Asia Pacific Travel & Tourism sector has soared ahead of many regions in the world with a year on year growth of more than 36%, new research from the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) says.
Before the pandemic struck, Asia Pacific’s Travel & Tourism sector’s contribution to GDP represented more than USD 3 trillion (9.9% of the region’s economy).
After the pandemic brought international travel to an almost complete standstill, in 2020, Asia Pacific saw a hit of almost 54%, halving the contribution of the Travel & Tourism sector to the region’s economy.
However, according to the research, and based on the current rate of recovery, the sector’s contribution to the region’s GDP could see a YoY of 36.3% this year, ahead of the global average of 30.7%, which represents an increase of USD 515 billion.
The data also reveals Travel & Tourism’s contribution to the Asia Pacific economy could see a similar year on year rise of 35.8% in 2022, representing an increase of USD 692 billion.
Julia Simpson, WTTC president & CEO, said: “Our research clearly shows that while the global Travel & Tourism sector is beginning to recover, Asia Pacific is doing so at a much faster rate. Many countries in the APAC region, such as the Philippines, host to our prestigious annual Global Summit next March, are not only ramping up their entire vaccination programme, but also focusing on speeding up the vaccination rollout in key tourism destinations in order to reboot their Travel & Tourism sectors.”
