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by Aaron Recuenco, Manila Buletin
The Philippines has been playing a key role in reigniting travel and tourism in the Asia-Pacific region, a top official of the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) said on Thursday, April 21.
The assessment was backed by data from the WTTC’s Economic Impact Report (EIR) which showed that the Philippines earned $41billion from travel and tourism and supported 7.8 million jobs in 2021.
Julia Simpson, WTTC president and chief executive officer, said that based on their EIR, the Philippines was the fourth fastest in terms of GDP (Gross Domestic Product) growth rate for travel and tourism last year.
She said the improvement in travel and tourism sector since the global plunge in 2020 is an indication of recovery.
“Now, recovery is in our sights. It is not uniform, it is faltering, but it is recovery. Here in Asia-Pacific the reopening is just beginning. I congratulate the Philippines, a nation that has shown determination and courage to reignite travel,” said Simpson in her speech during the second day of the Global Summit Philippines.
The meeting was attended by more than 1,000 delegates from across the global travel and tourism sector, including CEOs, business leaders, government ministers, travel experts and the international media.
In 2019, the travel and tourism sector contributed $9.6 trillion to the global economy.
But when the Covid-19 pandemic struck the world in 2020, Simpson said a massive 50 percent loss was recorded and 62 million jobs were affected.
In the Philippines, the travel and tourism sector contributed 22.5 percent of the country’s GDP, or $92.6 billion, before the pandemic. It plunged to 80.7 percent decrease in 2020.
But everything changes as the world began to recover last year, according to Simpson.
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