Post-pandemic, cities began their true recovery in 2022 as travel restrictions were lifted and demand for international travel returned, Asia-Pacific and the Middle East are expected to witness unprecedented growth, according to a report by World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC).
The 2022 International Visitor Spending forecast report reveals that Dubai has the highest visitor spending amounting to $29.4bn, followed by Doha at $16.8bn and London at $16.1bn.
Direct Travel and Tourism GDP from 82 cities were combined amounting to $734bn in 2019, $582bn in 2022 and forecasted to be $1.1tr in 2032. Paris, Beijing and Orlando are forecasted to be the largest direct travel and tourism contribution to the GDP in 2022.
10 of 82 cities analysed in the report are already projected to have exceeded 2019 levels including Doha and Warsaw.
According to the report, before the pandemic, almost half of all international visits were accounted for by major cities however, travel to major cities fell drastically as compared to other destinations due to their high reliance on both international and business travel. A shift in demand was observed towards less crowded, rural or coastal destinations.
Relative to 2019 levels of international visitor spending, the most recovered cities ranked are Doha, Orlando and Antalya.
Between 2022 and 2032, the strongest annual average growth in direct travel and tourism GDP is expected to be concentrated to Asia-Pacific and Saudi Arabian cities including Riyadh and Jeddah.
Follow us on
