World Travel & Tourism Council research: Foreign visitors to Spain account for over half of the country’s service exports

LONDON, 2015-10-5 — /Travel PR News/ — Foreign visitors to Spain account for over half of the country’s service exports, according to new research by the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC).

Spain’s visitor exports (money spent by foreign visitors in a country) reached $US69.5 billion (EUR52.2bn) in 2014, which is 53% of all of the country’s service exports, according to research released today by WTTC. The Benchmarking Report 2015, a new study published by WTTC, compared Travel & Tourism to a number of other industry sectors in Spain.

The research also shows that Travel & Tourism generated a total impact of $US214 billion (EUR161.0bn) or 15.2% of Spain’s GDP in 2014, which is larger than the GDP generated of every studied sector except for retail at 18.8%.
Additionally, Travel & Tourism directly supports more than twice as many jobs as the financial services sector, supporting 2.7 million jobs or 15.3% of total employment in Spain in 2014.

According to the report, Travel & Tourism has strong linkages to other sectors through its supply chains. Every one job in the sector creates another two jobs in Spain on an indirect or induced basis, making its linkages stronger than in the agriculture and education sectors.

The contribution that Travel & Tourism makes to GDP is forecast to grow at an annual average of 2.3% over the next ten years, faster the total economy growth which is estimated to increase by 1.7% per annum over the next decade.

Speaking at the Summit Shopping Tourism & Economy in Madrid today, David Scowsill, President & CEO of the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), said:

“Following our successful Global Summit in April in Madrid this research confirms the importance of Travel & Tourism to Spain’s economic growth. Over 50% of the country’s service exports come from our sector and not only are we one of the biggest employers, every job in the industry creates another two other jobs elsewhere in Spain.

“It is therefore crucial for Spain to continue to focus on Travel & Tourism in its national policies and invest in infrastructure and human capital so that the third’s most visited country in the world continues to maximise its tourism potential.”

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About the Benchmarking Report
The following sectors have been analysed in comparison to Travel & Tourism. They were selected as having similar a breadth and global presence as Travel & Tourism.

• Agriculture:  includes agriculture, forestry, and fishing
• Automotive manufacturing: includes motor vehicles and parts & accessories
• Banking: includes all banking activities and related services.
• Chemicals manufacturing: includes drugs & medicines, plastics, rubber, paint, polishes, ink, perfumes, cosmetics, soap, cleaning materials, fertilizer, pesticides, other chemicals
• Education: includes all levels of educational services
• Financial services: includes banking, investment services, insurance
• Mining: includes the extraction of oil, natural gas, coal, metals, and related services
• Retail (without wholesale): includes all retail trade (i.e. Retail trade, except of motor vehicles & retail codes to motor vehicles and motorcycles)

Countries researched in the study:  Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Kenya, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Thailand, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States of America

About WTTC
The World Travel & Tourism Council is the global authority on the economic and social contribution of Travel & Tourism. It promotes sustainable growth for the sector, working with governments and international institutions to create jobs, to drive exports and to generate prosperity. WTTC’s annual Global Summit brings together over 1,000 delegates to discuss the opportunities, challenges and issues facing the industry, while its Tourism for Tomorrow Awards recognise the industry’s power to be a positive force in sustainability.

The sector is a key driver for investment and economic growth globally. By the end of 2015, Travel & Tourism will contribute US$7.8 trillion or 10% of global GDP, once all direct, indirect and induced impacts are taken into account. The sector will account for 284 million jobs, 9.5% of total employment, or one in eleven of all jobs on the planet.

For 25 years, WTTC has been the voice of this industry globally. Members are the Chairs, Presidents and Chief Executives of the world’s leading, private sector Travel & Tourism businesses. These Members bring specialist knowledge to guide government policy and decision-making, raising awareness of the importance of the industry as an economic generator of prosperity.

For any media enquiries or interview requests, please contact
Annebeth Wijtenburg, Public Relations Manager.

annebeth.wijtenburg @wttc.org
+44 (0) 20 7481 6483

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