Tourism added 7.2 million jobs and $7.2 trillion to GDP
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The councils said 2.5 million new jobs were generated directly in the sector in 2015, taking the number of direct jobs to 108 million. In total, 7.2 million new jobs were created as a result of direct, indirect and induced activity.
The total contribution of Travel & Tourism to employment grew by 2.6% in 2015, while the total GDP contribution grew by 3.1% – faster than wider economic growth (2.3%) for the fifth consecutive year.
In GDP growth terms, the Travel & Tourism sector outperformed several other major economic sectors in 2015, including manufacturing and retail. In employment growth terms, the Travel & Tourism sector outperformed various other select industries in 2015, including the financial services, education and health care sectors.
At a country level, direct Travel & Tourism GDP growth outpaced economy-wide GDP growth in 127 of the 184 countries covered by the annual Economic Impact Research in 2015.
Examples of economies where Travel & Tourism most markedly outperformed the wider economy in 2015 included Iceland, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, and Uganda. ■