Travel’s Contribution to CDN GDP Down by More Than $59 Billion in 2020: WTTC

wttc

The World Travel & Tourism Council’s (WTTC) annual Economic Impact Report on 08JUN revealed that the collapse of Canada’s travel and tourism sector wiped out $59.2 billion from the nation’s economy last year.

The annual report by the WTTC represents the global travel and tourism private sector, and shows that the sector’s impact on GDP dropped by over half (53 per cent).

This comes after 2018 and 2019, when the travel and tourism sector’s growth equalled or exceeded that of the overall economy. In 2020, the sector’s contribution to the nation’s GDP fell from $111.6 billion (6.4 per cent) in 2019, to $52.4 billion (3.2 per cent).

WTTC noted that the travel restrictions imposed by the Canadian government, that brought international travel to a halt, resulted in the loss of 373,000 travel and tourism jobs across Canada. These job losses were felt across the entire travel and tourism industry with small and mid-sized enterprises, which make up eight out of 10 of all global businesses in the sector, affected in particular. 

The survey noted that the Canadian travel and tourism sector’s employment numbers fell from nearly 1.8 million in 2019, to just over 1.4 million in 2020 –  a 20.9 per cent drop.

The report also revealed domestic visitor spending dropped by 51 per cent, while, due to even stricter travel restrictions, international spending fell by 71.1 per cent.

“WTTC believes that if (Canada’s) vaccine rollout picks up pace, and restrictions for travel internationally are relaxed before the busy summer season, along with a clear roadmap for increased mobility and with comprehensive testing on departure in place, we predict the 373,000 jobs lost in Canada could return this year,” said Virginia Messina, Senior Vice President WTTC.

WTTC said the key to unlocking safe international travel can be achieved through a clear and science-based framework to reopen international travel. 

“WTTC believes that another year of terrible losses can be avoided if the government supports the swift resumption of international travel, which will be vital to powering the turnaround of the Canadian economy,” said Messina.

You may also like
Carnival Corp “Outperforms on Every Measure” with Record Wave Season
Carnival Corp, which owns Carnival Cruise Line, Princess Cruises, Holland America Line and Seabourn, reported record Q1 revenues of $5.4 billion ...
World-Class Culture, Fine Wine and Mating Rhinos; South Africa Comes to Town
South Africa’s Justin Barnette, the highly entertaining head of Marketing and Communications, said the tourism team wanted to come to Toronto ...
Plane in Flight
CAPA ANALYSIS: With Lynx Gone, Canada’s Big Airlines Are Playing it Smart
A Senior Analyst, Americas, at Sydney-based CAPA - Centre for Aviation, penned a story this week that looks at how Canadian ...
JTB Invites GTA Advisors to Attend ‘Evening with Jamaica’ Event 16-17APR
The Jamaica Tourist Board is hosting two events in Toronto for GTA advisors to experience an Evening with Jamaica on 16APR ...
Sandals Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Opening Hailed as a First
The 18th resort in its portfolio, Sandals Saint Vincent and the Grenadines held its ribbon cutting ceremony on 28MAR. For travel ...

Talk Back! Post a comment: