Travel & Tourism largest sector in the Philippines in 2018, says new WTTC Benchmarking research 

Major research conducted by World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), the global body which represents the private sector of Travel & Tourism, has revealed Travel & Tourism was the largest sector in the Philippines last year at 24.7% of nation's GDP, contributing US$82bn to the country's economy.

The 'Benchmarking' study from WTTC, compares the industry's economic impact to eight other key sectors (Agriculture, Mining, Health, Automotive Manufacturing, Retail, Financial Services, Banking and Construction), across 26 countries and 10 world regions.

The report, sponsored by American Express, reveals that in the Philippines, of the sectors studied, Travel & Tourism is the largest sector in terms of GDP contribution, making up almost a quarter of country's total GDP, ahead of Financial services (15.4%), Agriculture (14.8%) and Retail (14.8%).

Travel & Tourism's contribution to employment during 2018 was 26.4%, ahead of both Retail and Construction, at 20.4% and 15.7% respectively, and only just behind Agriculture (31.1%).

The Global Picture

Accounting for 10.4% (US$ 8.8 trillion) of total global GDP in 2018, Travel & Tourism's contribution to GDP was 1.4 times higher than Agriculture (7.7% contribution), 1.5 times higher than Banking (7.1% contribution) and Automotive Manufacturing (6.8% contribution) and 1.7 times higher than Mining (6.0% contribution).

Among those analysed, Travel & Tourism was the fastest growing sector in 2018, increasing 3.9%, ahead of Automotive manufacturing (3.7%) and Health (3.3%), and higher than the global economy growth rate (3.2%) for the eighth consecutive year. Strong growth in Travel & Tourism is driven by the continued rise in the number of middle-class households, solid growth in global consumer spending, low unemployment rates, continued rebound from security threats, currency depreciation and visa relaxation in several countries around the world.

Meanwhile, Travel & Tourism contributes 319 million jobs (10% of all jobs) to global employment, ahead of Financial services (9.1%) and Health (7.4%).

Gloria Guevara, President & CEO, WTTC said: "As we know and is now reaffirmed by this Benchmarking Research, the Travel & Tourism sector is key for the country's economy, underpinning much of spending and supporting millions of jobs. The industry has experienced incredible growth over the last nine years and WTTC commends the Philippines government for recognising the importance of Travel & Tourism as a driver of economic growth and for their strategy in spreading the benefits of the industry across the country."