The WTTC 2023 Economic Impact Research (EIR) reveals India’s Travel & Tourism sector is in strong recovery and will be within touching distance of the pre-pandemic peak this year.

Speaking today to Ministers at the G20 Summit in India, Julia Simpson, WTTC President & CEO, highlighted the sector’s resilience, growing at twice the rate of GDP not only in India, but across all G20 nations.

WTTC research forecasts Travel & Tourism contributing INR 16.5TN to the Indian economy this year, just 3.5% below 2019.

The sector is forecast to create over 1.6MN more jobs this year, recovering almost all of the jobs lost due to the COVID-19 pandemic to reach almost 39MN, with around one in 13 workers in India in the Travel & Tourism sector.

International visitor spend in India is forecast to reach more than INR 2TN with domestic visitor spend forecast to reach more than INR 12.6TN.

Julia Simpson, WTTC President & CEO, said: “The G20 Presidency provides India with the opportunity to highlight the economic and social value of Travel & Tourism, at a critical moment for the global economy.

“Minister Reddy has shown great leadership, rallying the G20 Ministers under the Goa Roadmap, showing the world that Travel & Tourism boosts economies whilst meeting the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

“Travel & Tourism creates great job opportunities, providing exciting career opportunities for young people to be part of sustainable tourism under Travel for Life. WTTC has brought a panel of private sector leaders to the G20 to talk candidly about the opportunities and challenges facing the sector.

“Growth will be double GDP, but we need governments to focus on reliable energy and sustainable aviation fuel production”.

A look back on last year

Last year, the sector’s GDP contribution grew by almost 90% to reach more than INR 15.6TN, representing 5.9% of the economy, edging closer to the 2019 high of 7% of the economy.

The sector also created 14.6MN more jobs in 2022 to reach 37.2MN jobs nationally – one in 13 jobs across India.

Last year also saw a 125% increase in international visitor spending in India, reach more than INR 1.6TN.

Domestic visitor spend grew 86% last year to reach more than INR 12.3TN. It is now just 1% behind pre-pandemic levels.

What does the next decade look like?

The global tourism body is forecasting that the sector will grow its GDP contribution to INR 36.8TN by 2033, approximately 7% of the Indian economy and will employ over 58.2MN people across the country, with one in 10 working in the sector.

Asia-Pacific

In 2022, the Asia-Pacific Travel & Tourism sector contributed USD $1.6TN to the regional economy, but this is still 50% behind the 2019 peak. WTTC forecasts the region’s GDP contribution from the sector will reach more than USD $2.6TN in 2023 – just 16% below the 2019 highpoint.

The sector employed over 155MN people across the region in 2022, an increase of 8.7MN from the previous year but still 15% behind pre-pandemic levels. WTTC forecasts the sector will fully recover the jobs lost during the pandemic by the end of 2024.