The 2024 Economic Impact Report of the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) Economic Impact Research (EIR) today revealed that China’s Travel and Tourism sector is set to contribute a record 12.62 million yen to the national economy by the end of this year. In partnership with Oxford Economics, the latest WTTC research shows that domestic travel spending is also set to reach new heights i.e. an increase of 6.79 million yen to China’s economy in 2024.
According to the global tourism body, employment in Travel & Tourism is expected to represent 10.6% of all jobs in the country this year, although just 2% behind 2019 levels.
Yet despite this growth in GDP contribution and with job numbers returning to pre- pandemic levels, international visitor spending is expected to remain more than 25% behind 2019 levels this year.
Julia Simpson, WTTC President & CEO, said; “While China’s Travel & Tourism sector has shown signs of resilience, with a strong recovery in both its economic contribution and domestic travel spend, the much later reopening has meant international travel spend is off the pace.
“The new, more simplified visa application process is certainly a step in the right direction and should see more visitors from overseas this year and next.”
Last year, China’s Travel & Tourism contributed ¥9.2TN to the economy, 24% behind 2019 levels, and while jobs in the sector rose by almost 16%, the total number of people employed in the sector remained 4.8MN behind the previous peak, at 77.47MN.
Travel & Tourism in Northeast Asia is expected to grow by more than 29% this year to reach a record-breaking USD 2.3TN, whilst jobs could reach more than 89.5MN, just behind 2019
levels.
International spending is expected to reach more than USD 250BN this year, while domestic visitor spending is set to reach an all-time high of USD 1.2TN, surpassing the pre-pandemic
level by almost 10%.
