Global travel surging back
Held for the first time on the African continent, the World Travel & Tourism Council’s (WTTC) 23rd Global Summit is taking place in Kigali, Rwanda, with a positive message from CEO Julia Simpson that travel is making a strong comeback to pre-pandemic strength.
The latest data from WTTC and its partner Oxford Economics shows that global travel is surging back, with all regions recovering faster than previously expected, with Asia-Pacific leading the way.
Speaking at the opening of the Global Summit in Kigali, WTTC President & CEO Julia Simpson said: “Our latest data highlights our sector’s enduring appeal and resilience and is recovering faster than anticipated. This trend underlines the longstanding consumer appetite for travel, and despite China’s full recovery potential yet to be realised, the global sector’s performance is exceeding expectations.”
During the 2022 Global Summit in Riyadh, WTTC in partnership with the Sustainable Tourism Global Centre, part of the Ministry of Tourism of Saudi Arabia, unveiled the inaugural results from the Environmental Impact research. This included the sector’s accurate greenhouse gas emissions for the first time ever.
This represents the most comprehensive environmental data in Travel & Tourism’s history including the sector’s energy, and water use footprint. The research not only reveals the sector’s direct impact, but also its supply chain impacts, both within national borders and those that are embedded in Travel & Tourism’s international supply chains. According to the data, Travel & Tourism was responsible for 8.1% of greenhouse gas emissions in 2019, 10.6% of total global energy and 0.9% of freshwater use. ESR data covers 185 countries across all regions and will be updated each year with the latest figures.
Building upon WTTC’s world-renowned Economic Impact Research, this initiative introduces individualized factsheets for each country and major global regions, and a dedicated microsite allowing users to explore the data in detail. Delegates featured include footballing legend Didier Drogba; Justin Urquhart-Stewart, Global Economist and renowned business commentator; Francis Gatare, CEO of the Rwanda Development Board; as well as Heads of State from the region.
