{Infographic} The Importance of Travel & Tourism to the Global Economy

The growth of the travel and tourism industry in recent years has been staggering. International passenger numbers are expected to rise to 1.5 billion in 2017 with 292 million additional passengers. The industry now supports 1 in 11 jobs worldwide.

The way we live is changing and the industry no longer relies on affluent people paying exorbitant prices for their holidays, or honeymooners spending to excess in some exotic paradise. In 2015, holidays are much more affordable for the average person, and as a result the majority of people plan at least one holiday a year.

The emergence of a strong middle class has been hugely influential in this, and these numbers continue to grow. Over the next 15 years, 2 billion people will join the middle class in China, and this presents huge opportunities for further growth in an already lucrative market. Furthermore, the rise in the amount of young people travelling, along with the growth in the amount of bleisure trips have been enormously influential. Dubai has made a large investment in their airline industry to try and take advantage of the rapid growth.

The rise in the amount of people travelling creates a huge opportunity for the hospitality sector, and as a result a wave of new hotels are opening this year which will include 1.3 million guestrooms. It would be easy to assume that due to the amount of people travelling, that it will be very easy to make money with any hotel, but it is still vital to analyse the market for opportunity gaps. The hospitality sector needs to understand their customers segments and focus on creating unique experiences for each guest.

This info-graphic from Nerval, a restaurant and hotel furniture supplier in Canada, outlines the importance of travel and tourism to the economy, and offers advice to the hospitality sector on how it can best exploit this growth.

Mario Skrzypczak
Nerval Corporation