Turkey’s travel and tourism’s GDP is forecasted to grow at an
average rate of 5.5 percent annually between over the next decade,
more than twice the 2.5 percent growth rate of country’s overall
economy, according to the World Travel & Tourism Council’s (WTTC)
latest Economic Impact Report (EIR), Trend reports citing Hurriyet Daily
News.
The forecast from the WTTC shows that by 2032, the sector’s
contribution to the nation’s GDP could reach nearly 1.04 trillion
Turkish Liras ($117 billion), representing 11 percent of the total
economy.
The sector is also expected to create more than 716,000 new jobs
over the next decade, according to the WTTC’s estimates.
By the end of this year, the sector’s contribution to GDP is
expected to grow 15.5 percent to nearly 607 billion liras,
amounting to 8.3 percent of the nation’s economy, while employment
in the sector is set to grow by 4 percent to reach more than 2.5
million jobs.
Latest flight booking data from WTTC’s knowledge partner
ForwardKeys shows that over the key summer period this year, Turkey
is set to be the fourth most popular European hot spots amongst
sun-seeking travelers, who will be heading to city destinations
such as Istanbul, and the beaches of Antalya, Bodrum, and
Dalaman.
The data shows that flight bookings are already overtaking
pre-pandemic levels with bookings from the U.K. up 101 percent,
according to the report.
“Other source markets are also outperforming 2019, with bookings
from the U.S., Canada, and Ireland up 57 percent, 28 percent and 18
percent respectively.”
Before the pandemic, Turkey’s economy was highly reliant on
international tourism, so its recovery is critical to both the
economy and jobs, commented Julia Simpson, WTTC President and
CEO.
Turkey’s travel and tourism sector’s contribution to GDP was 11
percent (693.3 billion liras or $78.2 billion) in 2019, falling to
just 5.1 percent (327.2 billion liras in 2020, which represented a
52.8 percent…