Wttc Turism
Global Travel & Tourism in 2011:
A Year of Challenge
Like all global industries, Travel & Tourism was impacted throughout 2011 by significant social unrest and economic instability in different parts of the world, not to mention a number of major natural disasters affecting specific markets and destinations. Yet, despite these different challenges, the industry overall still recorded positive annual growth in employment and GDP globally, demonstrating its resilience and underlying strength.
2011 saw a series of dramatic and, in some cases, unprecedented global events, including national political revolutions, global economic instability and large-scale natural disasters. These combined to create a very challenging business environment for the different Travel & Tourism industry players.
Economic instability
Many economists have said that 2011 was the toughest global macroeconomic environment since the financial crisis and deep recession of 2008-2009. In 2011, the challenging economic environment was due to a combination of factors, including:
• Continuing uncertainty over the future of the eurozone, with a series of bailout packages failing to convince the markets that a solution had been found, leading to the eurozone’s slide towards recession by the end of the year;
• Weakening global business and investor confidence, a sharp dive in world stock markets and a fall in world trade growth – all linked to adverse eurozone developments. Although many corporates are still ‘cash rich’, uncertainty and low confidence have held back investment and recruitment;
• A sluggish initial performance of the US economy – although it began to show more positive signs by the end of the year;
• A slowdown in the main emerging economies as world trade growth slowed – even in the BRIC1 countries, on which overall global growth had depended heavily for a number of years;
• High levels of public debt and borrowing and increasing government austerity, coupled
A Year of Challenge
Like all global industries, Travel & Tourism was impacted throughout 2011 by significant social unrest and economic instability in different parts of the world, not to mention a number of major natural disasters affecting specific markets and destinations. Yet, despite these different challenges, the industry overall still recorded positive annual growth in employment and GDP globally, demonstrating its resilience and underlying strength.
2011 saw a series of dramatic and, in some cases, unprecedented global events, including national political revolutions, global economic instability and large-scale natural disasters. These combined to create a very challenging business environment for the different Travel & Tourism industry players.
Economic instability
Many economists have said that 2011 was the toughest global macroeconomic environment since the financial crisis and deep recession of 2008-2009. In 2011, the challenging economic environment was due to a combination of factors, including:
• Continuing uncertainty over the future of the eurozone, with a series of bailout packages failing to convince the markets that a solution had been found, leading to the eurozone’s slide towards recession by the end of the year;
• Weakening global business and investor confidence, a sharp dive in world stock markets and a fall in world trade growth – all linked to adverse eurozone developments. Although many corporates are still ‘cash rich’, uncertainty and low confidence have held back investment and recruitment;
• A sluggish initial performance of the US economy – although it began to show more positive signs by the end of the year;
• A slowdown in the main emerging economies as world trade growth slowed – even in the BRIC1 countries, on which overall global growth had depended heavily for a number of years;
• High levels of public debt and borrowing and increasing government austerity, coupled