The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) has published its annual Economic Impact Research, Global Trends Report, which takes stock of an exceptional 2025 for the travel and tourism industry. The sector contributed €10.03 trillion ($11.6 trillion) to global GDP, equivalent to 9.8% of the world economy, with growth of 4.1% comfortably outpacing the wider global economy (2.8%). For hotel executives and investors, the figures confirm the strength of a sector that has firmly re-established itself as a major economic driver.
A historic year for global Travel & Tourism
The sector supported 366 million jobs worldwide — nearly one in nine — and accounted for one in three net new jobs created since the pandemic. International arrivals reached a record 1.54 billion, up 5.6% year-on-year, equivalent to 4.2 million border crossings every day. International visitor spending totalled €1.73 trillion ($2 trillion), a level that surpasses the pre-pandemic peak for the first time.
Asia-Pacific led global growth, with tourism GDP up 8.1% to reach €2.85 trillion ($3.3 trillion), underpinned by visa facilitation policies, biometrics and infrastructure modernisation. The Middle East grew 5.3% and Africa 5.0%, while Europe posted more modest growth of 2.6%.
Leisure tourism crosses a new threshold as Europe captures a third of global spending
In a separate statement issued on 17 August 2026, the WTTC set out the scale of Europe’s performance specifically within the leisure tourism segment. Global leisure travel spending reached €5.32 trillion ($6.15 trillion) in 2025, up 3.5% year-on-year, and now accounts for 80.5% of total global tourism expenditure. According to this 2026 data from the Economic Impact Research report, produced in partnership with Oxford Economics and sponsored by Chase Travel Group as Lead Research Partner, Europe alone captured €1.73 trillion ($2 trillion) of that spending — one dollar in every three spent worldwide on leisure tourism.
France, Spain, Italy and Türkiye account for the bulk of this performance, driven by strong international demand, a diverse mix of source markets, a leading tourism offering and robust air connectivity. In 2025, leisure spending grew 3.6% in France, 2.6% in Spain and 2.2% in Italy. For 2026, the WTTC forecasts European growth of 3.7%, above the global average of 3.1%, with Italy set to lead this new phase with expected growth of 4.7%, followed by Spain (+4.3%), Türkiye (+4.1%) and France (+2.6%). This momentum is partly explained by a redirection of tourism flows from other parts of the world, which is further strengthening Southern Europe’s competitive position.
Gloria Guevara, President and CEO of the WTTC, said in the statement that at the height of the summer season, Europe continues to set the pace for global leisure tourism, capturing a third of global spending and demonstrating the strength, diversity and resilience of its tourism sector. She added that Southern Europe remains the driving force behind this growth, with Spain, Italy, France and Türkiye continuing to attract strong international demand thanks to unique visitor experiences, excellent connectivity and a competitive tourism offering, while stressing that destinations must keep investing in infrastructure, connectivity and sustainable tourism management to sustain future growth. This analysis echoes an argument already made by LTH on the economic shift between Spain and France, with Spain consolidating its position as Europe’s second-largest market behind France in leisure spending.
Global investment passes the $1 trillion mark
The Global Trends Report highlights a strategic shift for investors and funds active in hospitality: capital investment in Travel & Tourism exceeded €865 billion ($1 trillion) for the first time since 2019 in 2025, up 8.5% year-on-year, with a further rise of 5.9% expected in 2026. This trend echoes an earlier WTTC report presented at ITB Berlin, which had already anticipated a gap between the recovery in investment and the recovery in demand across G20 economies.
Four countries alone account for close to half of this global investment, with €427.3 billion ($494 billion) combined in 2025: China, the United States, Saudi Arabia and India. This geographic concentration is reshaping the hierarchy of priority markets for hotel groups seeking development opportunities.
China, the US, Saudi Arabia and India: the four engines of investment
China, the world’s second-largest tourism investment market with €151.4 billion ($175 billion) committed in 2025, is expected to overtake the United States within a decade, reaching €347.7 billion ($402 billion) by 2036, driven by the 15th Five-Year Plan, which establishes tourism as a strategic pillar of the economy.
The United States nonetheless remains the largest market worldwide, with investment up 10% to €212 billion ($245 billion) in 2025, a pace supported by the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the America250 celebrations and the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games, with a trajectory expected to reach €328.7 billion ($380 billion) by 2036.
Saudi Arabia stands out as the most dynamic market in proportional terms, with investment growth of 19.4% in 2025 to reach €20.76 billion ($24 billion) — two and a half times the volume invested by the United Arab Emirates. This momentum, extensively documented by LTH on the Kingdom’s record hotel pipeline, is underpinned by the Vision 2030 strategy and the central role of the Public Investment Fund, alongside reforms favourable to foreign investors, including 100% ownership in certain eligible activities.
India completes this quartet, with annual investment growth forecast at 7.9% between 2026 and 2036, driven by the Viksit Bharat 2047 strategy, which targets a €2.6 trillion ($3 trillion) tourism economy and full openness to foreign capital in hospitality via the automatic route.
Middle East: resilience and diversification despite regional tensions
The Global Trends Report identifies Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Qatar as the region’s four most emblematic economies in post-oil diversification. Their combined contribution to Travel & Tourism stood at €235.3 billion ($272 billion) in 2025 and is expected to reach €376.3 billion ($435 billion) by 2036 — growth of €141 billion ($163 billion) over the period.
The WTTC notes that the region remains exposed to geopolitical tensions, which affect airspace and flows to destinations dependent on the regional transit hub, which handles around 14% of international passengers worldwide. The organisation nonetheless points to the sector’s historic resilience in the Middle East, underpinned by strengthened public-private coordination: Saudi public spending on tourism has risen 110% since 2019, a trend consistent with the development of platforms such as AYARA, recently covered by LTH, which aims to fill the mid-market business segment gap in the Kingdom.
2026-2036 outlook: a decade of growth ahead
For 2026, the WTTC forecasts global tourism GDP growth of 3.2%, reaching €10.38 trillion ($12 trillion), still above expected global economic growth of 2.4%. Over the 2026-2036 decade, the sector is expected to grow by an average of 3.6% a year to reach €14.79 trillion ($17.1 trillion), or 11% of the global economy, supporting 88.7 million additional jobs.
In the foreword to the Global Trends Report, Gloria Guevara notes that 2025’s performance is not an endpoint but the foundation for the next phase of growth. She stresses the need for sustained public-private collaboration to address labour shortages and visa mobility gaps that are already constraining the sector in some countries — a governance issue that the WTTC’s new leadership team, now based in Madrid, will be following closely.
At a glance by The Hospitality Tribune
WTTC data confirms a record year for Travel & Tourism in 2025, with Europe leading global leisure spending.
Global GDP contribution: $11.6TN (9.8% of world economy), up 4.1% year-on-year
Global leisure travel spending: $6.15TN (80.5% of total travel expenditure), Europe capturing $2TN, one dollar in every three spent worldwide
Southern Europe 2026 outlook: Italy +4.7%, Spain +4.3%, Türkiye +4.1%, France +2.6% in leisure spending growth
Global capital investment passed $1TN in 2025, led by China, the US, Saudi Arabia and India
Middle East resilience: Saudi Arabia, UAE, Oman and Qatar combined for $272BN in 2025, forecast at $435BN by 2036
2026-2036 outlook: sector forecast to grow 3.6% annually, reaching $17.1TN and 11% of global GDP by 2036
