New data released by the World Travel & Tourism Council reveals the crippling impact the pandemic had on global tourism last year. The travel and tourism sector suffered global losses of nearly $4.5 trillion with its contribution to GDP plunging by a staggering 49.1 percent compared to 2019. 62 million jobs were lost in the sector last year while domestic visitor spending and international visitor spending fell by 45 percent and 69.4 percent, respectively.
In the United States alone, losses amounted to some $766 billion with tourism and travel’s contribution to national GDP falling from 8.6 percent to 5.3 percent. China also posted a mammoth loss of just under a trillion dollars with the sector’s contribution to GDP dropping from 11.6 percent to 4.5 percent.
This chart shows travel and tourism’s contribution to and share of national GDP.
