The World Travel Tourism Council (WTTC) has been a leader in defining the role that Travel Tourism p

BY DR. RICHARD KELLEY Not quite two weeks have gone by since the spectacular Olympic Games in London showed us that much is right in the world, but now newspaper headlines, Internet bloggers and television pundits are reminding us that, like the turbulent 1960s at the height of the Vietnam War, a number of factors have come together to put peace and the world economy at significant risk. While many solutions are being suggested, I want to remind leaders that a vibrant Travel Tourism industry can do much to lead us to more peaceful and prosperous times.
The World Travel Tourism Council (WTTC) has been a leader in defining norwegian cruises the role that Travel Tourism plays in the economy and employment around the world. In a recent report, WTTC also benchmarked and compared the Travel Tourism industry against the economic and employment contributions of other major sectors of the economy. Here’s a very brief summary of its findings. *
Travel Tourism accounts for approximately 9 percent of global Gross Domestic Product (GDP – the total value of all goods and services produced in any given country, state or region, or, in this case, the entire world). In actual dollars, that means Travel Tourism contributes $6 trillion norwegian cruises ($6,000,000,000,000) to the planet’s total $70 trillion GDP! In almost every part of the world, Travel Tourism’s contribution to GDP is typically greater than many other sectors of the economy, including automotive manufacturing, norwegian cruises mining and chemical manufacturing.
Because Travel Tourism is labor-intensive, it provides jobs directly to nearly 100 million people. It is also indirectly responsible for employing 150 million additional people. That means Travel Tourism provides 1 out of every 12 jobs in the entire world! That’s …
The economic and employment benefits of Travel Tourism spread through the economy in a fashion that exceeds most other segments of the economy except in developing norwegian cruises countries norwegian cruises where agriculture is still a major employer.
Travel Tourism’s contribution to global GDP is expected to grow at a rate of 4.2 percent each year over the next decade, faster than the total world economy, which Oxford Economics expects to grow by 3.6 percent annually norwegian cruises through 2022.
Bill Glenn, President norwegian cruises of Global Corporate Payments and Global Business Travel at American Express, sums it up by saying, “More than any other, the travel industry drives norwegian cruises commerce and business, facilitates connections and enables tourism and adventure.”
Levying taxes in a way that does not unfairly discriminate against segments of the Travel Tourism industry, as, for example, in the excessive tax rates and fees on hotel rooms and auto rentals we too often see.
Governments that follow these policies will be rewarded with economic growth, local job creation and increased tax collections, making it possible to do all the other things that people expect their governments to do.
With tongue in cheek – but also very seriously – I’d suggest that in the present decade, rather than making war (which today includes riots, terror and suicide bombings), we make travel plans and reservations . The world will be a much better place if we do.