Destinations

FORECAST DOWNGRADE: All the numbers from WTTC

The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) has downgraded its 2012 forecast, and now says it expects to see global growth of 2.7%, rather than its original prediction of 2.8%. The main reason for the slight downgrade is that the WTTC now expects world GDP growth to be 2.3% in 2012; down 0.2% from the beginning of the year, as well as the continuing problems in the Eurozone. The latest economic data from WTTC’s research partner, Oxford Economics, show marginal downgrades in the Eurozone and the US since the beginning of the year, contrasting with upgrades in Japan and emerging markets. David Scowsill, president & CEO of the WTTC, commented: “The latest figures from WTTC confirm the resilience of the Travel & Tourism industry around the world. Despite some specific and regional downgrades to short-term economic and industry forecasts, the longer-term prospects for Travel & Tourism remain very positive, and continue to be boosted by strong growth and rising prosperity in emerging markets. We expect the direct contribution of Travel & Tourism to global GDP to grow by an average of 4% per annum between 2011 and 2021 with North East Asia making up a growing share of the overall Travel & Tourism contribution to GDP.” Go to http://www.wttc.org for more.