According to the association’s latest Economic Impact Report (EIR), the sector will be a "driving force" of the global economic recovery, creating one in three of all new jobs.

The report shows the travel industry’s GDP is forecast to grow at an average rate of 5.8% annually between 2022-2032, outstripping the 2.7% growth rate for global economy, to reach $14.6 trillion.

It also claims the global sector’s GDP could reach pre-pandemic levels by 2023 – just 0.1% below 2019 levels. The sector’s contribution to GDP is expected to grow by 43.7% to almost $8.4 trillion by the end of 2022, amounting to 8.5% of the total global economic GDP – just 13.3% behind 2019 levels.

Julia Simpson, WTTC president and chief, forecasted a "brighter future" for the industry, with both GDP and employment set to reach pre-pandemic levels by next year.

"The recovery in 2021 was slower than expected due in part to the impact of the Omicron variant but mainly due to an uncoordinated approach by governments who rejected the advice of the World Health Organization, which maintained that closing borders would not stop the spread of the virus but would only serve to damage economies and livelihoods," she continued.

The report also shows the industry’s GDP is predicted to increase by an average annual rate of 5.8% over the next decade, compared to the 2.7% average annual growth rate for the global economy during the same period.

Meanwhile, global employment is expected to grow in 2022 by 3.5%, making up 9.1% of the global job market, lagging behind 2019 levels by 10%.