France is leading Europe’s tourism recovery.

According to new research from the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), France’s travel and tourism sector could grow by 34.9 percent this year. WTTC stated at the recently held Destination France Summit that the sector’s growth this year is expected to outpace Europe’s overall recovery of 23.9 percent and the global recovery of 30.7 percent. The contribution of the country’s travel and tourism sector to GDP in 2019 was EUR 211 billion (8.5 percent of the national economy). When the pandemic halted international travel in 2020, the travel and tourism sector’s contribution was only EUR 108 billion (4.7 percent of the national economy).

However, according to the most recent research, at the current rate of recovery, the sector can expect a year on year growth of nearly 35%, representing a EUR 38 billion increase. According to the data, the country could see a year on year increase of 21.8 percent in 2022, contributing an additional EUR 32 billion to the economy.

According to the global tourism organization, while an increase in domestic travel has provided some relief to the country, it is insufficient to achieve the full recovery required to save the country’s economy and the millions of jobs lost due to the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the study, while domestic spending is expected to rise by 56.6 percent year on year in 2021, international spending may fall by 1.9 percent this year.

However, while domestic spending is expected to rise 9.9 percent year on year, international spending is expected to rebound 67.8 percent next year, providing a massive boost to both jobs and employment. Prior to the pandemic, the French tourism sector employed nearly 2.7 million people.

After losing nearly 200,000 jobs last year, the research indicates that employment will remain stagnant in 2021. However, the outlook for next year is more optimistic, with a 9.4 percent increase expected, creating an additional 236,000 jobs across the country.

“Our latest research shows that France’s travel sector is beginning to recover faster than its neighbors, though there is still a long way to go,” WTTC President & CEO Julia Simpson said. Hundreds of thousands of jobs were lost in France last year as a result of the pandemic. This year, employment is flat, but we anticipate a significant increase in Travel & Tourism in France next year as long as the country remains open to vaccinated visitors.”

Source: https://bit.ly/3F86wwz