Worldwide travel and tourism generated $8.8tn in revenues last year as growth of +3.9% outpaced that of global GDP (+3.2%), according to the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC).

Annual research assessing the economic and social impact of the sector shows the share of spending from international tourists lifted to 28.8% – up from 27.3% in 2017. Domestic tourism receipts accounted for 71.2% of total spending.

The sector accounted for 10.4% of all global economic activity, supporting 319m jobs, says the WTTC.

It says this makes it the fastest-growing sector in the world ahead of healthcare (+3.1%), IT (+1.7%) and financial services (+1.7%), lagging behind manufacturing only (+4%).

ONE IN FIVE NEW JOBS

Gloria Guevara, President and CEO of WTTC said: “2018 was another year of strong growth for the global travel and tourism sector reinforcing its role as a driver of economic growth and job creation.

“For the eighth consecutive year, our sector outpaced growth in the wider global economy and we recorded the second-highest growth of any major sector in the world.

“In 2018, travel & tourism generated $8.8 trillion and supported 319 million jobs across the world. Yet again, this proves the power of travel & tourism as a tool for governments to generate prosperity while creating jobs which particularly support women, youth and other, often marginalised groups of society.

“In fact, travel & tourism now accounts for one in five of all new jobs created worldwide and is forecast to contribute 100 million new jobs globally over the next ten years, accounting for 421 million jobs by 2029.”