ABSTRACT
According to the World Travel and Tourism Council, the Travel, Tourism, and Hospitality industries collectively generate 9.8% of the world’s GDP while supporting 284 million jobs. Within the United States, the direct contribution of travel and tourism to GDP was US$488 billion (2.7% of total GDP) in 2015 and is forecasted to rise by 2.8% in 2016, and to rise by 3.7% per annum (pa), from 2016–2026, to US$722.3 billion (3.2% of total GDP) in 2026. Considering both direct and indirect impact, the total contribution of travel and tourism to GDP was US$1.5 trillion (8.2% of GDP) in 2015, a total that is forecast to rise by 3.0% in 2016, and to rise by 3.4% pa to US$2.2 trillion (9.3% of GDP) by 2026. During 2015, the total contribution of travel and tourism to employment, including indirect jobs, was 9.6% of total employment (14,248,000 jobs). This is expected to rise by 2.0% in 2016 to 14,527,000 jobs and rise by 2.4% pa to 18,493,000 jobs in 2026 (11.4% of total). The lodging sector of travel, tourism, and hospitality alone accounts for over 53,000 hotel properties, 4.9 million guest rooms, and US$176 billion in sales just within the United States. These statistics from the World Travel and Tourism Council demonstrate the size and value of the travel, tourism, and hospitality operations within the context of the global economy.
