Travel and tourism contributes more to the global export sector than it does to GDP, according to a study for the World Travel and Tourism Council by Oxford Economics.
Economist John Walker, chairman of Oxford Economics, told the WTTC Global Summit in Hainan: “Travel and tourism makes a 5.4% contribution to global trade when on average it contributes direct to the economy about 3% of GDP.”
Walker said: “Every country benefits in some way.”
A WTTC executive summary of Oxford Economics’ findings notes: “The contribution is disproportionately large compared with the output.”
The impact is such that “a number of countries, including Italy, Malaysia, Spain and Thailand are expected to run a current account surplus in 2014 which would become a deficit in the absence of tourism credits”.
Walker told the Summit: “People often believe there are more jobs in manufacturing than in tourism but it is not true.
“Maybe people think jobs in tourism are less valuable than in manufacturing, but that is not true.”
Walker said: “Travel generates more trade over time. I don’t believe you can just put capacity in place and demand will come. You don’t want over-capacity. But people will travel more in future so you do need capacity in advance – just not too far in advance.”
He added: “The industry can still do more to make it easier for people to travel.”
The Oxford Economics study concludes: “Travel and trade growth have been closely aligned over time … [and] business travel has a notable impact on trade performance.
It notes: “A clear causal relationship between business travel and international trade has been identified.
“Business travel generates incremental trade over subsequent years, although causality does run in both directions.”
The study adds: “Countries that have done the most to encourage travel, through measures such as visa facilitation, have tended to see the largest trade growth.”