The travel and tourism industry is expected to create one in every eight jobs, with over 460 million new positions over the next decade.
This insight was shared by Julia Simpson, President & CEO of the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), during a virtual meeting held from Brussels.
The WTTC unveiled its 2025 Economic Impact Report on Wednesday in collaboration with Oxford Economics, highlighting fresh insights into global travel trends and industry growth projections.
“In terms of employment, we forecast the sector to support a staggering 460 million jobs in 2035 that's roughly one in every eight jobs globally,” said Simpson.
According to an earlier report from Emirates Group and Dubai Airports, Dubai's aviation industry is expected to create an additional 185,000 jobs over the next five years.
This indicated that the hiring surge in Dubai's airlines and aviation sector, which began in late 2021 after the peak of the Covid-19 will continue. During this time, recruitment for new pilots, cabin crew, and ground staff reached unprecedented levels as travel resumed.
Etihad Airways, the national airline of the UAE, is also poised to hire hundreds of additional pilots to support its growing fleet and network, along with recruiting for other positions.
UAE, DUBAI'S SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTION
Meanwhile, as per the latest WTTC report, the travel industry in the Middle East — particularly in Dubai and the UAE — has already added $342 billion to the world’s GDP in 2024, underscoring its impressive growth and strong potential for further expansion.
Responding to a question from Khaleej Times, Simpson added, “Dubai airport, is so successful because it's able to keep recreating itself. It's being recording record numbers at the moment, and the Middle East is going to be one of the regions that we are going to be talking.” It’s worth noting that the significant growth in employment and visitor spending reflects the UAE's strategic vision and dedication to advancing its travel and tourism sector. “It is one of the most successful regions that we're seeing, it is galloping ahead. Dubai is doing very well.”
Shedding light on global projections, she added, “Last year, we witnessed record breaking numbers, and our forecast this year suggests that this year we are going to be registering positive growth, and that is set to continue. In fact, we expect the sector to contribute a record breaking $11.7 trillion to the global GDP.” Markedly, this is a 7.34 percent up from $10.9 trillion in 2024.
TRAVEL TRENDS
Simpson also emphasised that business travel has rebounded a full year ahead of projections, with conference halls filling up and deal‑makers back in the skies.
“Business travel came back a year earlier than we thought it did. So, we're seeing a lot of conferences, a lot of people going to do deals. Even in troubled times like this, there will be people flying around trying to do deals. Business travel's strong, and it's recovered well.”
The next trend she highlighted was the luxury end. “We're seeing that there's big interest in well-being. Now the big name of the game is longevity.”
Additionally she reflected on the importance of nature. “Nature, I think, is really important. We are still seeing people who want to get off the beaten track, even though it started post-pandemic, but people have continued that trend. People want to be alongside nature, and when I say nature, they want to be alongside local people and local customs. We’re seeing that a lot -- that quest for authenticity.
We’re also seeing trends in three generations traveling together. Now it's very popular and we’re also seeing the rise of the single, over-64-year-old woman traveling alone as well, which is a big trend.”
Bd-Pratidin English/ARK
