The World Travel & Tourism Council’s latest Economic Impact (EIR) reveals the Travel & Tourism sector in Germany will catapult the national economic recovery and could surpass pre-pandemic levels next year, nearly 2.5% above 2019 levels. Germany Tourism

The forecast from the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), shows the sector’s contribution to GDP could reach more than €364 billion by next year.

Travel & Tourism in Germany is set to boost the national economic recovery with an average growth rate outpacing the overall country’s economy growth for the next 10 years.

According to the report, Travel & Tourism’s GDP is expected to grow at an average annual rate of 1.3% annually between 2022-2032, above the 1.1% growth rate for the country’s economy, to reach more than €394 billion (9.7% of the total economy).

The forecast also reveals the Travel & Tourism sector is expected to create almost half a million jobs in the next 10 years, averaging more than 47,000 every year.

By the end of this year, the sector’s contribution to GDP is expected to grow 52.4% to more than €347 billion, amounting to 9.6% of the total economic GDP, while employment in the sector is set to grow by 6.9% to reach 5.5 million jobs.

Julia Simpson, WTTC President & CEO, said: “COVID-19 wreaked havoc on Germany’s Travel & Tourism, affecting millions of livelihoods and impacting the national economy.

“However, our data provides a positive outlook, that will be provide a massive boost to businesses across Germany as the sector finally begins to recover from the pandemic.”

Before the pandemic, Germany’s Travel & Tourism sector’s contribution to GDP was 9.8% (€355.3 billion) in 2019, falling to just 6.3% (€217.2 billion) in 2020, representing a staggering 38.9% loss.

The sector also supported nearly 5.9 million jobs, before an almost complete halt to international travel which resulted in a drop of nearly 800,000 (13.5%), to reach just over five million in 2020.

WTTC’s latest EIR report also reveals that 2021 saw the beginning of the recovery for the country’s Travel & Tourism sector.

Last year, its contribution to GDP climbed 5% year on year, to reach €228 billion.

However, the recovery of jobs was slower with less than 15,000 Travel & Tourism jobs created, to reach nearly 5.1 million.

The sector’s contribution to the economy could have been higher if it weren’t for the impact of the Omicron variant, which led to the recovery faltering around the world, with many countries reinstating travel restrictions.