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“The private and public sector must come together and concentrate on long run strategies, infrastructure and initiatives, not only short term goals, with the intention that our industry is sooner than the expansion curve,” World Travel & Tourism president David Scowsill has argued.

In his closing speech on the 13th WTTC Global Summit in Abu Dhabi, Scowsill explained that, by 2050, there’ll be three billion people enjoying middle class wealth – meaning more middle class consumers, enjoying more travel, creating more jobs and generating more GDP.

He said the expansion opportunities ahead must be a wake-up call to the non-public and public sector to enroll in together and plan sustainable, long run strategies: “The industry should interact to drive investment in infrastructure, that’s conducive to sustainable growth, not only now, but for the following ten, 25, even 50 years with the intention to make sure that tourism continues to make a necessary economic contribution to global GDP and jobs and that the brand new wave of middle class consumers from emerging markets can cross borders with ease”.

By 2023, WTTC forecasts tourism’s total economic contribution will account for ten per cent of world GDP, $10.5 trillion US dollars and one in ten jobs.

Total tourism employment is forecast to feature over 70 million jobs over the subsequent decade, with two-thirds of these additional jobs in Asia.

Asia will continue to steer growth of the industry, with annual average growth of over six per cent.

The WTTC 13th Global Summit has seen government ministers and private and non-private sector executives from everywhere in the world come together in Abu Dhabi during the last two days to speak about the numerous issues and challenges facing the industry within the immediate and long-term.

In his closing speech, Scowsill also explained that lobbying governments to forestall seeing tourists as a soft target for generating treasury cash would remain a key central strategic priority for tourism over the following year: “WTTC will develop finance models over a higher yr if you want to demonstrate, country by country, the negative economic impact on tourism of punitive taxation on travellers.

“This data may be used to expose government leaders, that taxing the tourist doesn’t end in positive economic growth – the truth is, it results in the other.”

Scowsill also said that visa facilitation would greatly remain on its agenda for the following year: “Too a lot of people still find it too complex and too difficult to cross borders as international tourists. Governments have to balance security needs with a metamorphosis in mindset and implement visa waiver and trusted traveller programmes.

“The tourism industry must continue to lobby for change and demonstrate to individual countries the commercial opportunities, on the way to be generated, through improvements to visa processes.”

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