With investment announcements for more than 2.5 billion dollars, the XX Summit of the World Tourism Council (WTTC) was held this week in Cancun, Mexico, with 20 thousand virtual participants.
This massive virtual assistance, that also included 600 who were in person at the Mexican resort location, is an indication of the great expectation that dominates the sector, undoubtedly the most affected by the COVID-19 Pandemic, considered the Secretariat of Mexican tourism.
Although hybrid, it is the first massive in-person meeting after more than a year of the COVID-19 Pandemic, admitted Christopher Nassetta, President of the board of the international organization who made the announcement of the investment program which should generate more than 100,000 jobs.
He explained that it is an investment by various hotel and airline businessmen, travel agencies and cruise ships, in order to reactivate the industry and thus confirm confidence. The capital will be invested in tourism projects, he clarified.
Nassetta stated that at this time the tourism industry needs to reactivate through the opening of international borders, and recalled the fall of almost 50 percent registered in 2020 when it went from 9.2 billion dollars in 2019 to 4.7 trillion at the end of the year. Global tourism employment had a smaller reduction, 18.5 percent equivalent to 62 million jobs, from 334 million in 2019 to 272 million in 2020.
Mobility and international travel
According to the council’s estimates, mobility and international travel may resume in June, and if it materializes its contribution to world GDP could increase this year by up to 48.5 percent and reach levels similar to the time immediately prior to the Covid-19 in 2022 for an annualized rebound of 25.3 percent.
The Secretary of Tourism of Mexico, Miguel Torruco, called at the opening ceremony to establish international and regional alliances to bring the sector afloat. In that sense, Nassetta admitted that tourism needs to be a leader in opening up borders. “We can open borders, we just have to be smart, with health systems and massive tests; we must do it and be sure that we are really doing it well,” he said.
Torruco said that it is essential to create a healthy environment in all places where travelers arrive. So far, efforts have been made by all the agents, but this may improve with the passage of time and the experience left by the crisis.
