The two companies launched the Trending in Travel report, which shows the latest trends in traveller behaviour and future bookings in the wake of the Covid-19 crisis.
WTTC’s latest projections predicted "strong growth" in international spending for 2022 and beyond, and is projected to overtake domestic spending in 2022 as more destinations ease restrictions and vaccination rates continue to rise.
Following a 69.4% decline in 2020, global international spending on travel is set to rise by 9.3% in 2021 and by 93.8% in 2022.
Around 70% of travellers in many major countries such as the US, Spain, the UK, Canada, and Japan are reportedly planning to spend more on travel in 2022 than they have in the last five years.
The report also revealed how "severe and confusing" travel restrictions drove a "significant" rise in domestic tourism.
It showed a surge in domestic hotel bookings of more than 200% on Trip.com’s platform this year compared to 2019.
Julia Simpson, WTTC president and chief executive, said it is clear people are "really looking forward to travelling again".
"Consumers are curious, they are looking at new destinations, ‘the great outdoors’ and travel which benefits the places and people they visit," she added.
"As travel and tourism represents over 10% of global GDP this is good news for jobs and economies."
The WTTC said that although domestic travel will provide a "much-needed" boost to the sector, the return of international travel is "critical to rebooting" the global economy.
Trip.com Group data shows London remains one of the most searched international destination in 2021, along with Madrid, Nice, Berlin and Rome.
According to the report, the pause in travel has also heightened consumers’ eagerness to travel more sustainably, with more than eight out of 10 (83%) global travellers saying they would make sustainable travel a priority in the future.
The WTTC said the recovery of the sector is "picking up pace", with the industry’s contribution to global GDP projected to rise by 30.7% in 2021 and 31.7% in 2022.
