Unveiling its annual research results at ITB Berlin today, the council emphasised the importance of travel as a component of global economic growth over the past two decades, but also illustrated the impact of the recent recession on demand.
"As was the case with other sectors, travel was hit hard by the credit and housing market collapses last year; both of which triggered the deepest recession since the Great Depression," said WTTC's president Jean-Claude Baumgarten.
In a macroeconomic sense, world GDP fell by 2.1 per cent during 2009, with developed economies – a major source of demand for travel & tourism – the most severely affected. But behind these headline figures, individual households were forced to curtail leisure travel plans; often substituting lower-cost short-haul and domestic travel for more expensive long-haul trips.
Corporations also reduced business travel budgets, cutting demand further.
http://www.breakingtravelnews.com/news/article/wttc-predicts-gradual-recovery-for-travel-sector/