São Paulo – Global tourism’s GDP is expected to grow 3.1% this year, surpassing the 2.3% growth forecast of the world economy. The estimate is part of the most recent report by the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) released this Monday (22).
The strongest regional growth should take place in Asia. Driven by India, the GDP of the region’s tourism is expected to increase 5.9%. Middle East and Africa countries should see a 3.7% growth in tourism revenues. Egypt alone is expected to register a 5.8% growth of the sector’s GDP, while Saudi Arabia should grow 2.8%.
Latin America is the only region expected to register a decline in tourism’s GDP. According to the report, Latin American countries’ tourism should decrease 0.9%, driven especially by Brazil, which is expected to register a decrease of 1.6% in its tourism GDP. The report says that, despite the positive effects brought by the Olympics in Brazil, the decline in the tourism sector in the country is the result of “political turmoil and weak macroeconomic performance”.
The WTTC also analyzed the impact of Brexit, the exit of the United Kingdom from the European Union. The council concluded that the United Kingdom’s tourism sector will have a positive performance in 2016 with a growth 3.6%. According to the report, a forecast pointing to lower spending in domestic tourism will be offset by higher spending of international visitors to the United Kingdom, the result of a more favorable foreign exchange rate due to the devaluation of the sterling pound.
“Our update report highlights the resilience of travellers and the robustness of our sector, as tourism continues to outpace global economic growth by nearly 1%. Whilst we should not downplay the impact of incidents or turmoil at individual country level, on a macro-economic level we continue to register strong growth”, says David Scowsill, WTTC’s president and CEO, in a statement.
“It is important to remember that tourism is a force for good. It brings tremendous social and economic benefits to countries and connects people from different cultures and backgrounds. We call on governments to continue to focus on the economic and social benefits of travel and tourism, and to work together with the private sector to combat some of the challenges we face”, added the executive.
*Translated by Sérgio Kakitani
