Travel & Tourism sector critical to powering PHL recovery, says WTTC

Sector outpaces overall GDP growth for fifth consecutive year and grew more than twice than the global average

Almost a quarter of the country’s total workforce employed by Travel & Tourism

A major new report has revealed that as the Philippines continues its fight against COVID-19, the Travel & Tourism sector will make a vital contribution to its economic recovery, once the virus has been successfully combatted.

The publication by the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), which represents the global Travel & Tourism private sector, of its annual Economic Impact Report (EIR), shows how vital a part the sector played in driving the country’s economy in 2019.

According to the 2020 EIR report, during 2019, Travel & Tourism was responsible for more than 10 million jobs (10.2m), or almost a quarter (24.1%) of the country’s total workforce. It also generated PHP 4,708.8BN, or 25.3% to the economy, growing by an impressive 8.6% from the previous year, compared to the overall economy which grew by 5.9%.

The comprehensive report also showed international visitor spend totaled PHP 599.2BN, representing a significant 10.7% of the country’s total exports.

Further evidence of the importance of Travel & Tourism in the Philippines, is demonstrated by the EIR research that shows Travel & Tourism growth outpaced the overall economy for the fifth consecutive year. In 2019, the sector grew 50% more than the economy.

This significant and continued growth has been driven due to the implementation of several successful government policies and collaboration with the private sector.  The priority on sustainable tourism, and the Philippine Department of Tourism’s campaigns such as its new Save Our Spots (SOS) movement, calling for more responsible tourism has made a positive impact.

Gloria Guevara, President & CEO, said: “WTTC’s 2020 Economic Impact Report (EIR) shows how fundamental the Travel & Tourism sector was last year to the Philippines economy in 2019, supporting more than 10 million jobs, almost a quarter of the total number of people employed. The Government of Philippines has done an excellent job prioritising the sector over the last few years, to maximize the benefits, reduce poverty and to provide more job opportunities to its citizens”

“Our analysis highlights how vital the Travel & Tourism sector will be in driving the recovery of the country’s economy, generating new jobs and having a positive economic domino effect across the entire supply chain. The support that the Government will provide to the local private sector, workers and businesses during these challenging times will make a difference in the recovery”

WTTC’s EIR revealed between 2016 and 2018, South Korea accounted for almost a quarter (24%) of all visitors to the Philippines, with China and the US both reaching 15%. Japan accounted for 9% of all visitors, whilst Australia represented 4%.

The report also showed that in the Philippines, leisure spending represented two thirds of all spend (66%), compared to 34% spent on business. However, domestic spending accounted for 85%, compared to just 15% international.

 

The Global Picture

On a global level, the Travel & Tourism sector outperformed the 2.5% rate of global GDP growth for the ninth consecutive year in a row, thanks to an annual GDP growth rate of 3.5%. This made it the global economy’s third highest sector in terms of GDP growth.

The EIR shows the sector supporting one in 10 jobs (330 million), making a 10.3% contribution to global GDP and generating one in four of all new jobs.

It is crucial that all governments help to protect this vital sector – the backbone of the global economy – which is currently in a fight for survival, with more than 100 million jobs being lost.”

A breakdown by WTTC shows Asia Pacific to be the top performing region worldwide with a growth rate of 5.5%, followed by the Middle East at 5.3%. The US and EU both demonstrated a growth rate of 2.3%.

WTTC’s 2020 EIR Philippines report is available at https://wttc.org/en-gb/Research/Economic-Impact.