00:00Now, travel and tourism make up a tenth of the global economy.
00:04The industry supports over 350 million jobs and has contributed 11 trillion dollars for the world's GDP.
00:11The World Travel and Tourism Council says the Asia-Pacific region has driven the most growth,
00:16but the U.S. is falling behind.
00:19Robin Dwyer spoke to the council's CEO, Gloria Guevara.
00:24Well, several factors, the changes in policies in some of the regions,
00:28travel and tourism contributes, by the way, to 10 percent of the global GDP.
00:32But every region is implementing different initiatives.
00:35One of the regions that is growing the most is Asia-Pacific.
00:39Well, the sector in our release says that it grew 4.1 percent.
00:44Asia-Pacific grew twice as much, 8.2 percent.
00:49And several reasons.
00:50One of those reasons is the visas, for instance, that they are implemented in some nations,
00:54the connectivity, the power of the domestic travel, and on top of that, the people traveling for international.
01:02There are several countries that are driving that growth.
01:05For instance, the case of China.
01:07While the average was 4 percent, China grew 8.8 percent,
01:12which is a reflection of the policies that they have implemented lately.
01:17Some other players in the region are also growing a lot, like Japan, Malaysia, and Philippines as an example.
01:23So Asia-Pacific seems to be doing very well then, but not necessarily the case of North America,
01:28which is lagging behind, isn't it?
01:30Why is that?
01:32Exactly.
01:32Unfortunately, in the case of North America, North America, we combine, as you know,
01:37Canada, the U.S., and Mexico grew only 1 percent.
01:41And in the case of when you look at international visitors,
01:45the U.S. and Canada, unfortunately, had a decline.
01:48Why is that?
01:49That's several reasons.
01:50The perception, the visas, and, of course, the reduction of international travelers,
01:58especially to the U.S., had a significant impact.
02:01Not only are they receiving less travelers,
02:03the travelers that are coming to this part of the world,
02:06they're spending less money.
02:08And that's why the smaller growth compared to the rest.
02:12We are going to see the Football World Cup held in North America, though, aren't we, in the coming months.
02:17Do you think that will give it a boost?
02:20Absolutely.
02:20We believe that this is a great opportunity to increase the international spend and the number of travelers.
02:25But several factors also, or several initiatives, have to be implemented before people need to feel welcome.
02:31And that's what I know the administration is working on, that.
02:34The perception, the stimulus at the airports, and also making sure that they have a great experience.
02:40The destinations are great.
02:42We just need to make sure that people maximize that.
02:45Now, we also have to figure out how do we solve also the challenge in the case of the airfares,
02:51as we're seeing with the current situation in the Middle East.
02:54There's an increase in flight pricing or flight prices that there might be an impact.
02:59But overall, it's a great opportunity.
03:01Well, you mentioned rising airfares.
03:04It is a bit of a challenging time at the minute, isn't it, in the aviation industry.
03:07Do you think that this sector can nevertheless continue to grow?
03:11This is the most resilient sector.
03:14Every single crisis we have recovered.
03:16In WTTC, we have analyzed 90 different situations in the past.
03:20We've recovered from COVID.
03:21We've recovered from 9-11 financial crisis.
03:24Health breaks every single time we recover.
03:26It's the most resilient.
03:27Now, it depends on how the crisis is managed.
03:30We've recovered faster or it takes a long time.
03:33Now, in this case, the situation has been managed quite well by the countries of the Middle East,
03:38Saudi Arabia, UAE, for instance, Bahrain, even Qatar.
03:42They are doing a great job managing the passengers and the different challenges.
03:47But you're right.
03:48The pricing of the jet fuel is double of what it was a month ago.
03:52And that's an impact.
03:54So, we hope that once things are settled, we're going to be recovering in maximum two months.
03:59So, which kind of places do you think will be the growth areas?
04:03What are the hot destinations that people will be looking to go to?
04:07Well, there are a lot of places.
04:09You mean globally?
04:10For instance, in the summer, of course, people are traveling.
04:13That's the thing that we have seen in the last years.
04:16They are willing to spend the money.
04:18We see a big increase in luxury travel as an example.
04:22So, instead of buying goods, they are buying experiences.
04:25They are discovering new destinations.
04:27We see an increase to travel to Asia, the Middle East, of course, Europe.
04:31And in the case of North America, to some other destinations, the Caribbean in Mexico, depending on where you're located,
04:37and, of course, depending on the budget.
04:39So, the jet fuel is very important, and the pricing of the airfares is a big driver.
04:44However, people still will travel, and that's the thing.
04:47They will travel for events.
04:49They will travel for leisure.
04:50And they are also traveling for business.
04:52We have seen an increase significant last year as well.
04:55We have seen an increase in the future.
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