Spending on global tourism is expected to exceed $ 6 trillion in 2012, accounting for 9 percent of the gross national product (GDP) worldwide, according to a report prepared by the UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) in coordination with the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC)
The number of international tourist arrivals is expected to rise this year by 3 to 4 percent, reaching the historic 1 billion mark by the end of the year from 980 million in 2011, said the report. The report was presented at the fourth conference of G20 tourism ministers that concluded in the resort town of Merida in Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula last week.
Prince Sultan bin Salman, chairman of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA) who attended the conference, urged countries to take immediate and serious steps to ease any impact from the global economic crisis on the tourism sector. During discussions, Prince Sultan stressed the importance of tourism as an engine for achieving sustainable development.
According to the research report presented at the conference by Taleb Rifai, head of the UNWTO, tourism has become a major component of international trade. "We will have more than a billion tourists, that means one-seventh of humanity, and this has never happened in history. Tourism represented 30 percent of the volume of service exports in 2011 and this figure will jump to 45 percent as far as developing countries are concerned,” he said.
The report pointed out that all countries such as the United States as well as Asian and European Union states have enacted flexible policies aimed at enhancing the flow of tourists to their countries. The tourism sector will create more than 250 million direct and indirect jobs, and this would represent 9 percent of the total global work force. It is also expected that more spending on the sector would create more job opportunities. Research shows that the arrival of 35 new tourists creates one direct job and two jobs in supporting sectors.
It was disclosed in the report that international tourism contributes substantially to the economies of the G20 nations. In 2011, 656 million international travelers visited G20 countries, 67 percent of all international tourist arrivals. These travelers spent approximately $ 830 billion, generating 78 million jobs.
One billion tourists to spend over $ 6 trillion
