Travel and Tourism at a Turning Point 2025

At subnational levels, significant variation exists in visitor intensities. Cities such as Doha, Dublin or Lima concentrate more than 60% of their countries’ T&T GDP contribution.7 Despite being among the most visited cities globally, T&T direct GDP contribution in major hubs such as Paris, Tokyo or Mexico City does not exceed 4% of the city’s GDP and can be as low as 1%.8 This uneven distribution creates both focused opportunities and concentrated challenges. For example, in Thailand, the provinces of Phuket and Chonburi capture more than 40% of the country’s tourism revenue,9 with Phuket reaching visitor-to-resident ratios of 118:1, creating infrastructural and environmental challenges.10 Meanwhile, the north-east region of Isaan, which occupies nearly one-third of the country’s total population, has historically been one of the least visited areas. This imbalance creates challenges for both. Over-visited areas face resource strains while the under-visited region seeks economic development opportunities. In fact, tourism authorities in Thailand recently defined the latter as a new focal point for tourism growth.11 New realities emerging as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic shook the sector, with global T&T GDP contracting from $10.3 trillion in 2019 to $5.3 trillion in 2020 – a decline of almost 50%.12 This period also accelerated innovation and prompted a strategic reassessment. Recovery, while uneven, has been steady, with global T&T GDP surpassing 2019 levels in 2024.13 The main developments include: –Varied recovery patterns: Some regions recovered faster than others. By the end of 2023 the Middle East and western and southern Europe exceeded 2019 levels while Asia Pacific remained 44% below.14T&T GDP direct contribution and growth by country FIGURE 1 Notes: 1. 2022 GDP direct contribution; 2. Annualized real growth adjusted for inflation. Source: WWTC5 and UN Tourism6 Travel and Tourism at a Turning Point: Principles for Transformative Growth 635 12 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 T&T direct GDP growth (2023–2033)2T&T direct GDP contribution (%) 6 5 4.5 4 3.5 3 2.5 2 1.5 0 6.5 7 8 8.5 99.5 10 11 13.5 16.5Tourism-centric economies Emerging tourism destinationsDiversified economies GermanyUKItaly BrazilAruba Bahamas JamaicaCroatia Greece EgyptMexico China¹Macau SAR, China Saint Lucia Montenegro IcelandMauritiusAntigua and BarbudaSeychelles Portugal Philippines Thailand Sri Lanka MyanmarHong Kong SAR,ChinaGuyanaMongoliaJordan Costa Rica ParaguayCzechiaTunisia Saudi Arabia OmanMaltaPuerto RicoEl Salvador Morocco Türkiye Albania Poland South Korea IsraelBangladeshSpain Belgium USA RomaniaJapanNepalEswatiniAnnual growth, % of country’s GDP ,1 size = T&T GPD – $ billions (Non-exhaustive) Non-G20 G20 T&T GDP = $10 billion