Global tourism predicted to slow after best year ever
LONDON — The travel and tourism sector is set for a modest slowdown in 2018 as a result of higher oil prices and airfares, a year after it experienced its best year on record, according to a leading global industry body.
In its annual Economic Impact Report, the World Travel and Tourism Council said Thursday that the sector was responsible for the creation of 7 million new jobs worldwide in 2017, or one in five new jobs.
That was due largely to the fact that the sector outperformed the global economy for the seventh year running, growing by 4.6 per cent against three per cent. The sector, according to the organization, outperformed all others.
“Twenty-seventeen was the best year on record for the travel & tourism sector,” said Gloria Guevara, president and CEO of the council.
“We have seen increased spending as a result of growing consumer confidence, both domestically and internationally, recovery in markets in North Africa and Europe previously impacted by terrorism and continued outbound growth from China and India.”
The council said Canada’s travel and tourism sector grew 4.5 per cent last year, outpacing the growth of three per cent for the wider economy.
The total contribution of the sector to the Canadian economy was $138.8 billion, the council said.
Though the council forecasts 2018 growth of four per cent globally as a result of higher oil prices and airfares as well as expectations of rising interest rates in countries such as the U.S. and the U.K., it kept its long-term forecasts unchanged, with average annual growth of 3.8 per cent over the next decade. By then, it expects the sector to support more than 400 million jobs globally, or one in nine of all jobs.
“As our sector continues to become more important both as a generator of GDP and jobs, our key challenge will be ensuring this growth is sustainable and inclusive,” Guevara said. “Already in 2017, we have begun to see a backlash against tourism in some key destinations.”
So-called overtourism is imperiling cherished buildings, straining infrastructure and harming the experience of travellers and local residents alike. Tourism-phobia has become increasingly prevalent, particularly in European destinations such as Barcelona and Venice, where visitors crowd the same places at the same time. The council is involved in efforts to spread tourists around destinations and smooth out demand over time.