Today, tourism and travel industry is reaching brand new heights. The main reason for this is that governments around the world clearly see the benefits of the sector for their countries economies. Travel and tourism developments are very productive when it comes to creating new jobs, offering various consumer services and increasing exports. As a result, many of the factors which are currently limiting global travelling are being discussed. Among them are the ineffective travel policies.
Last year was really important for the tourism and travel industry. The number of global travelers reached the record-breaking 1 billion people. This enabled the sector to offer 16% more jobs than other industries. One good example of that is the US. There, a new job was created for every 35 international tourists.
In addition, not only developed countries can enjoy the advantages of the rise in travel and tourism, but also the developing ones. Currently, the sector employs about 255 million people. That is approximately every 12th employee in the world. Moreover, the travel and tourism sector accumulates the amazing $6.3 trillion. It is estimated that this is equal to 9% of the world GDP.
As you can see, statistics are promising. Nevertheless, to reach second billion global tourists, governments and companies need to aid mobility. There are already events and conferences on which CEOs from the sector gather to discuss problems and find solutions for them.
Similar discussions will also be held in Abu Dhabi at the World Travel and Tourism Council Global Summit (9-10 April), at Peru’s World Economic Forum (23-25 April), as well as at Myanmar’s World Economic Forum (June). The purpose of these meetings is to convince tourism, security, commerce and foreign affairs to join their forces. All of these parties need to see the economic benefits of global tourism and travel.
For instance, it was discovered that G20 nations have the capacity to accumulate over 120 million new global travellers. These countries could create 5 million more job positions and get $206 in travel exports. However, that would happen only if they make visa applying easier.
There are already some countries and regions which are accepting regional visas. Among them are Mexico and Ireland. Mexico is welcoming travelers with US visas. Ireland, on the other hand, is accepting tourists with visas for the UK.
Such visa-free zones can offer both freedom and security to travelers But for that to be achieved, governments will need to work together. In addition, they will need to use technology and share information between one another.
Fortunately, discussions on that matter are now becoming a fact. That is mainly because governments finally begin to understand that global travel and tourism strategies offer many advantages.
If all these tasks are fulfilled, in 2020 the number of international travelers may hit 2 billion. When that turns into a reality, business revenue and global employment will greatly increase.
