The EU travel and tourism sector is set for a prolonged period of strong performance, having recovered to pre-pandemic levels, according to the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC).
The WTTC’s latest annual economic impact research report has forecast that EU tourism should, this year, reach 98% of its pre-Covid 2019 peak and contribute €1.44bn to the EU economy this year, which would be in line with 2019 levels.
Julia Simpson, WTTC President & CEO, said: “The Travel & Tourism sector in the EU is recovering strongly with high visitor demand. The number of jobs created by Travel & Tourism stands at 21.8 million, but by the end of this year it will reach nearly 22.5 million jobs, just 2% behind 2019 numbers.“
“Travel & Tourism is a key economic growth sector and driver of jobs in the EU due to the importance of the sector in so many countries such as Germany, Italy, Spain, and France. Our most recent Cities Economic Impact Report revealed that Paris remains the world’s most popular tourist destination.”
The EU should also create nearly 690,000 travel and tourism jobs this year, which would recover nearly 90% of the ones lost during the Covid crisis. That would mean that one-in-nine working people in the EU would be working in tourism.
The WTTC also forecast that travel and tourism’s contribution to the EU economy to €1.9bn by 2033.
