As the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) Global Summit kicks off in Kigali today, WTTC president Julia Simpson revealed that the global tourism sector is making a robust comeback.

The latest data from WTTC and its partner Oxford Economics shows that global travel is surging back, with all regions recovering faster than previously expected, with Asia-Pacific leading the way.

Speaking at the opening of the 23rd Global Summit, Simpson said: “Our latest data highlights our sector’s enduring appeal and resilience and is recovering faster than anticipated.

“This trend underlines the longstanding consumer appetite for travel, and despite China’s full recovery potential yet to be realised, the global sector’s performance is exceeding expectations.”

WTTC recently launched the latest industry-shaping Environmental Impact Research data (ESR), in partnership with the Sustainable Tourism Global Centre (STGC), part of the ministry of tourism of Saudi Arabia.

Last year, during the WTTC Global Summit in Riyadh, the two organisations launched the collaboration and unveiled the inaugural results including the accurate greenhouse gas emissions for the first time ever.

This represents the most comprehensive environmental data in tourism history including the sector’s energy, and water use footprint.

Not only tells the sector’s direct impact, but also its supply chain impacts, both within national borders and those that are embedded in tourism’s international supply chains.

According to the data, tourism was responsible for 8.1 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions in 2019, 10.6 per cent of total global energy and 0.9 per cent of freshwater use.

The ground-breaking ESR data covers 185 countries across all regions and will be updated each year with the latest figures.

Building upon WTTC’s world-renowned Economic Impact Research, this initiative introduces individualized factsheets for each country and major global regions, and a dedicated microsite allowing users to explore the data in detail.

Global Summit

As host to the first ever WTTC Global Summit in Africa, the event in Kigali will feature footballing legend Didier Drogba; Justin Urquhart-Stewart, Global Economist and renowned business commentator; Francis Gatare, chief executive of the Rwanda Development Board; as well as heads of state from the region.

WTTC Members, international media, and government representation from over 45 countries are also attending the event in Kigali.