New data from Statista Market Insights, presented by Stocklytics.com, reveals that the global travel and tourism industry is robust, healthy and growing.
With growth forecast at 8.3% this year compared to 2023, the industry is expected to generate gross revenue of $927 billion by the end of 2024 and is on track to jump 14% to $1.03 trillion in revenue by 2027. Nearly half ($494 billion) of that money will come from hotels, with package tours accounting for another 30% ($331 billion).
According to the report, camping and cruising will be the fastest growing travel segments in the coming years, with Europe ranking as the world’s largest travel and tourism market (generating $303 billion), followed by China ($223 billion) and the United States ($217 billion), respectively.
Our analysis: New travelers will enter the market, creating opportunities for travel advisors
This milestone represents a stark contrast to where the tourism industry was just four years ago, when travel was virtually halted during COVID-19 lockdowns.
Even as the recovery continues to pick up, perhaps what’s most impressive in Statista’s data is the number of new travelers that continue to enter the market: Despite runaway inflation driving up travel prices, 200 million more people will travel this year than before the pandemic. And over 500 million new travelers will enter the market over the next three years, bringing the total to 2.25 billion.
With a strong appetite for travel and a variety of travel styles ready to be explored, there has never been a better time to become a travel advisor.
RELATED: WTTC predicts record year for tourism in 2024
Key facts: Travel industry shows no signs of slowing down
– All segments of the travel and tourism industry will see substantial growth in user numbers over the next three years.
– More than 2 billion travelers will spend their money on hotels, cruises, vacation rentals and package tours this year.
– Nearly $495 billion is expected to be spent on hotels, the largest segment of the market, by 2027.
– The camping market will continue to grow by 7.28% (twice as fast as the hotel industry) and will reach $60 billion in revenue by 2027 (up from $48 billion this year). The cruise industry follows with a compound annual growth rate of 5% (up to $35 billion in 2027, up from $5 billion in 2024).
– Vacation rental users are expected to grow by 63 million to 921 million over the next three years. Package tours will follow with an expected 580 million users in 2027, up from 557 million this year. Camping will see around 90 million new users over this period, and cruises will follow with an increase of 4 million, up to 32 million users by 2027.
