UK travel and tourism could reach £192bn in 2022 if borders stay open
Following two disastrous years the UK’s travel and tourism industry is finally getting back on its feet, according to the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC).
If travel restrictions and testing protocols remain off limits, the WTTC predicts the sector’s contribution to the national economy to go up to £192bn, bringing with it a 1.7 per cent increase in jobs’ net gain and 4.3 million more people employed in the industry.
The UK, which from 4am tomorrow will remove all travel restrictions, is not the only country to have witnessed a significant recovery. The global industry could grow to reach $8.6tn as a result of the global vaccination campaign and the relaxation of travel rules, the WTTC added.
“While the UK was one of the worst hit in terms of the sector’s contribution to GDP, the future is looking positive,” said WTTC’s chief executive Julia Simpson. “But this will depend on the government keeping to its pledge to re-open UK Plc and not reintroducing the chaotic travel restrictions that actually had zero impact on the spread of the virus.”
The report comes a few days after the WTTC announced that the industry had lost £7bn following the impact of Omicron’s travel restrictions, City PM reported.
According WTTC’s data, the number of people employed in the industry went down from 4.27 million in 2019 to 3.96 million a year later – a 7.2 per cent fall.