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Feature - The Future of Travel and Tourism
The future in focus
Explore the new trends and global movements shaping the future of international travel and tourism at Arabian Travel Market In some parts of the world, international travellers are navigating the labyrinth of health regulations and border restrictions as they prepare to board their next flight. For many others, their upcoming trips are set to proceed as seamlessly as possible – for the first time in two years – with many countries around the world relaxing testing requirements and replacing the patchwork of restrictions with seamless digital solutions. Industry experts believe that things are moving in the right direction, with these positive changes ushering in better days for the sector. Also signalling that the international travel and tourism industry is well on its way to recovery, the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) revealed in its latest report that the sector’s contribution to the global economy could reach US$8.6 trillion this year, just 6.4 percent behind pre-pandemic levels. As per the global tourism body, if the vaccine and booster roll-outs
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continue at pace this year and restrictions on international travel are further eased around the world, the sector could create 58 million jobs in 2022, to reach more than 330 million, just one percent below pre-pandemic levels and 21.5 percent above 2020. In 2019, before the pandemic stopped travel in its tracks, the sector contributed nearly US$9.2 trillion to the global economy, generating 10.4 percent of the global GDP. However, in 2020, the crisis almost brought the sector to a complete standstill, causing a massive 49.1 percent drop, representing a severe loss of nearly US$4.5 trillion. Now, a little over two years later, there’s a paradigm shift in making travel as seamless, secure and safe as possible, with new trends and global movements steering the sector forward. “The outlook for international travel is positive,” said Scott Livermore, Chief Economist, Oxford Economics.
“While we do not expect an immediate complete rebound, significant gains are expected in 2022 and 2023 as pent-up demand is realised. “Once business travel recovery is fully underway, and once China and some other more cautious markets ease restrictions, we can expect to see travel volumes regain 2019 levels. This is currently expected worldwide in 2025 and by 2024 in the Middle East. The expected timeline for recovery has been deferred by the war in Ukraine but it has not been derailed.” Although recovery is certain, experts agree that the way in which travellers will experience the world will not be the same, with new trends redefining the sector as we know it. Discussing the current landscape of the industry, Livermore stated: “Travel remains more skewed towards domestic and short-haul destinations as these are typically more familiar and perceived
The outlook for international travel is positive. While we do not expect an immediate rebound, significant gains are expected in 2022 and 2023 as pent-up demand is realised 05/05/2022 1:51 PM
