Tourism, Organisations & Operators,

The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) has published ‘Critical Factors to Attract Hotel Investment’, a new report highlighting the importance of attracting capital investment to enable the travel and tourism industry’s full growth potential post Covid, following a 25% drop in 2020.
The report, launched today at the Sustainability and Investment Summit taking place in San Juan, Puerto Rico, looks at key enabling factors for hotel investment, and success stories of destinations that have employed such factors and shown strong growth in investment.
In 2020, when international travel came to an almost standstill, the travel and tourism sector saw 62 million job losses and its GDP contribution halved, representing a painful loss of nearly USD 4.9 trillion.
According to the paper, capital investment in the sector also fell substantially during the height of the pandemic, from nearly USD 1.1 trillion in 2019, to only USD 805 billion in 2020, representing an almost 25% drop. Investment in the sector continued to decline last year with a further 6.9% decline to USD 750 billion.
The report does however provide grounds for optimism as it forecast a strong growth in travel and tourism investment over the next decade. However, the global tourism body warns that to achieve this, governments around the world must create a favourable enabling environment.ADVERTISEMENTIn addition to political stability and liquidity, considered essential for investment, a clear, open, and consistent government action and support, favourable tax incentives, and safety and security, amongst others, remain prerequisites to attract hotel investments.
Julia Simpson, WTTC President & CEO, said: “Hotel investment is absolutely key for the recovery and growth of the Travel & Tourism sector. Destinations must have a clear commitment and take a holistic approach to become resilient and competitive.
“As we recover from the pandemic and we build back better, investments not only need to benefit destinations economically, but more importantly, socially and environmentally.”
According to the innovative report, the key enabling factors for hotel investment include governance and rule of law, a key enabler for investors, as it determines how easily and successfully a business operates, physical infrastructure, air and ground connectivity, and workforce.
The report analysed a number of popular destinations which benefitted from implementing these elements. For instance, the Netherlands provides an enabling environment for foreign investment with less restrictive regulations and strict laws to penalise corruption.
Physical infrastructure, air and ground connectivity is also crucial to investment as well-connected hubs support wider regional development and provide access to lesser-known destinations that offer tourism opportunities.
South Korea, for example, ranks as one of the best-connected countries in the world. The announcement of the country as the 2018 Winter Olympics host, incentivised investment in transport infrastructure, which resulted in hotel room supply soaring by almost 15%, outstripping the healthy overall Travel & Tourism capital investment growth of 8.7% in 2017.
The paper also highlights the importance of re-skilling and up-skilling the workforce. Leading the way in this area is Portugal, which focussed on strategies to help reskill the sector, such as the Tourism Training Talent (TTT) programme, committed to improving the quality of tourism’s training services.
Some additional factors and success stories in the report include liquidity in Maldives, government aid in Saudi Arabia, taxation in Colombia, destination planning and sustainability in Singapore and Rwanda, service culture in the Philippines, and travel facilitation in Aruba.
With contributions from STR, KSL Capital Partners, and JLL, the report, draws from experience to inspire both the public and private sector, as they develop and implement Travel & Tourism investment policies that will boost the long-term recovery of the sector.

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Hong Kong comes alive this summer as HKTB launches ARTS IN HONG KONG, a year-long campaign to showcase the city’s extraordinary and enduring appeal as an arts and cultural hub on a global stage.
The ARTS IN HONG KONG campaign will support international events, in-depth community arts, cultural tours, interactive art tech experiences, art fairs, new openings and much more in celebration of the city’s incredible art scene. The programme launched in May, anchored by perennial stalwarts Art Basel and Christie’s Hong Kong Spring Auctions, plus a supporting cast of innovative new events and venues such as Palace Museum, which will open 2nd July 2022, as well as M+, French May and Art Central.
HKTB Executive Director Mr Dane Cheng comments, “In-depth travel experiences have become a major global trend, and arts and culture are a key driver of this trend. The Hong Kong Tourism Board has organised an ‘Art Month’ promotion for the past nine years when international events were held in town to generate city-wide art vibes. As well as the staging of large-scale events, new world-class art landmarks such as M+ and the Hong Kong Palace Museum are also opening their doors, boosting Hong Kong’s allure as an arts and cultural travel destination. As the city’s arts scene becomes richer than ever, the HKTB will make ‘Arts in Hong Kong’ a year-round promotional platform to raise awareness of the city’s always-on, diverse experience of arts and culture, and establish Hong Kong as an East-meets-West centre for international cultural exchange.”
Hong Kong is nominated as Asia’s Leading City Break Destination 2022, Asia’s Leading Festival & Event Destination 2022, Asia’s Leading Meetings & Conference Destination 2022 and Asia’s Leading Tourist Board 2022 by World Travel Awards.

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Julia Simpson, WTTC President & CEO said: “We welcome the decision by the Biden administration and CDC to lift the damaging testing requirement for travelers. It will provide much-needed relief to the embattled sector.
“The long-term recovery of U.S. Travel & Tourism now looks positive, with our projections showing that a fully recovered sector will create more than six million new jobs over the next 10 years. But short term, the measure caused untold damage to an already devastated sector as international visitor spending has been so low over the past two years.”

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The latest Economic Impact Report (EIR) from the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), which represents the global Travel & Tourism private sector, reveals that the U.S. Travel & Tourism sector is projected to contribute over $2.6 billion in gross domestic product (GDP) to the U.S. economy over the next decade.
By 2032, the U.S. Travel & Tourism sector is expected to make up 9.2% of the entire U.S. economy based on an average annual growth rate of 3.9% – nearly double the anticipated 2% growth rate of the U.S. economy overall.
According to the forecast, produced in partnership with Oxford Economics, between 2022 and 2032, jobs in the U.S. Travel & Tourism could grow at an average rate of 3.9% annually, representing a 47% increase from 2022 expected job levels.
Whilst the global tourism body welcomes the new National Travel and Tourism Strategy, which aims to ensure the future growth of Travel & Tourism in the U.S. and create new jobs, WTTC says only immediate action now can secure the long-term recovery of the sector and create more than 6.3 million jobs over the next decade.
For 2022, WTTC projects that the sector’s GDP contribution will grow by more than 42% versus 2021, reaching more than $1.8 billion by the end of this year and accounting for 7.6% of the entire U.S. economy.ADVERTISEMENTBy year-end, the global tourism body forecasts that employment in the sector could increase as much as 28%, reaching 13.5 million jobs nationwide, from a high of 16.8 million in 2019.
INTERNATIONAL VISITOR SPEND MAY STALL U.S. SECTOR RECOVERY
“The long-term recovery of the U.S. Travel & Tourism sector looks positive, bringing more than 6 million new jobs to the U.S. economy over the next 10 years,” said Julia Simpson, WTTC President & CEO. “But the landscape is highly competitive, and the U.S. is losing out on international visitors.”
Simpson continued: “Full recovery of Travel & Tourism relies on a significant rebound of international travel. While the new National Travel and Tourism Strategy is a step in the right direction, 2021 was another difficult year for U.S. economy and the millions of livelihoods who rely on it.
“Many countries’ Travel & Tourism sector is bouncing back to pre-pandemic numbers next year, but the U.S. is not expected to recover until 2025.”
Despite strong projected growth in employment and GDP contribution over the next 10 years, WTTC’s data indicates that pressure created by slow international traveler spending in the U.S. will continue to drive a significant performance gap in the sector’s recovery this year.
At the current pace of the recovery, the U.S. international spending would not return to pre-pandemic levels until 2025, showcasing the urgency of opening borders to international travelers.
In fact, international traveler spend to the U.S. remains far below pre-pandemic levels, resulting in a slower-than-expected recovery of international tourism revenue.
In 2021, international visitor spending grew a modest 1.4%, reaching $40.3 billion but falling far short of 2019’s total of $190.9 billion.

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American Society of Travel Advisors (ASTA) President & CEO Zane Kerby issues the following statement in response to reports that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will lift its requirement for travelers to test negative for COVID-19 before entering the U.S.:
“We are thrilled to see the end of the CDC’s inbound testing rule, which has been standing in the way of our industry’s recovery for too long. Since the start of the year, ASTA has been engaged in a multi-layered advocacy campaign to get to this point, including direct lobbying of Congress and Administration officials, grassroots action and pressure through national and local media. We commend the Biden Administration for taking this long-overdue step and thank ASTA members across the country for their hard work in helping get this across the finish line. While plenty of challenges remain in terms of rebuilding the travel agency business, today is a great day.”
Addressing the CDC’s inbound testing rule has long been ASTA’s top policy priority. The Society’s advocacy campaign on the issue featured over 100 Congressional meetings, nearly 4,000 grassroots emails to the Administration, over 7,400 letters to the editor through our grassroots portal, and multiple ASTA and coalition letters to Administration officials.

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American Gaming Association (AGA) President and CEO Bill Miller issued the following statement on the Biden administration’s announcement that the pre-departure testing requirement for international air travelers to the United States will be lifted on June 12:
“The American Gaming Association applauds the White House’s decision to lift the COVID-19 testing requirement for international air travelers to the United States. By welcoming back international business and leisure travelers, the American gaming industry and our nation’s hospitality sector can fully recover. This move puts the United States on equal footing with other countries and will provide a major boost to our nation’s travel and hospitality industries.
“The AGA and our members have been vocal proponents of this move for months, and we are thankful for the Nevada delegation and other champions in Congress who continue to support gaming communities across the country. We are grateful to the CDC, all those in the health and science community, and the Biden administration for tackling this enormous challenge and making this a reality.
“At the same time, we must not forget that more can still be done to return tourism to pre-pandemic levels. We ask the State Department to continue their work to speed up international visa processing time by investing in additional staff and allowing virtual interviews. Eliminating the testing requirement will undoubtedly open our doors to more international visitors and we should make the process for entry as efficient and accessible as possible.”

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UNWTO has welcomed Bogotá’s Tourism Observatory into its International Network of Sustainable Observatories (INSTO).
Bogotá´s Tourism Observatory has longstanding and extensive monitoring experience and has been further strengthened by the City Council as an instrument of public management and mechanism to consolidate, systematize, analyze and research information of the tourism sector. Becoming a member of INSTO will help Bogotá in managing tourism development in a responsible and sustainable manner and allow it to better deal with post-pandemic recovery.
UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili said: “The INSTO network is a platform where we welcome Observatories that are committed to basing the sustainable development of tourism on evidence, participatory approaches and transparency. We are very pleased to welcome Bogotá into the Network as the latest member.”Inclusive future for Bogotá´s tourism
Bogotá is home to a wide variety of tourist resources and attractions and has an infrastructure that allows for the development of different high-quality tourism products. As the most popular Colombian destination in terms of tourist numbers, arrivals in 2021 reached almost 6 million, with growth of 49.8% in relation to 2020, contributing US$5.795 billion corresponding to 2.4% of the total GDP of the city, which meant an annual increase of 38.2% between 2020 and 2021. Within the Sustainable Tourism Policy of Colombia 2022, the vision of strengthening the reputation and recognition of Colombia as a sustainable tourism destination is clearly outlined.
The Vice Minister of Tourism Ricardo Galindo Bueno assured that “for the Vice Ministry of Tourism it is great news that the Bogotá’s Tourism Observatory is part of the UNWTO INSTO network, because a tool of these characteristics and qualities, allows public policies of the sector in the district to continue to be nourished by objective measurements that improve decision making”.ADVERTISEMENTDirector of the District Institute of Tourism (IDT), Karol Fajardo Mariño explained: “The adhesion of the Bogotá’s Tourism Observatory to the UNWTO INSTO Network will allow us to share with other tourist destinations experiences and development and measurement strategies based on exemplary sustainability, in an effort to respond to the needs of quality tourism information demanded by the sector.”
The Bogotá’s Tourism Observatory will monitor 11 key areas for tourism sustainability: tourism seasonality, employment, economic benefits of the destination, energy management, water management, wastewater management, solid waste management, climate action, accessibility, local satisfaction and governance, which will facilitate decision-making and the processes of formulating public policies and strengthening the sustainable development of our city.

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Bogotá´s Tourism Observatory has longstanding and extensive monitoring experience and has been further strengthened by the City Council as an instrument of public management and mechanism to consolidate, systematise, analyse and research information of the tourism sector. Becoming a member of INSTO will help Bogotá in managing tourism development in a responsible and sustainable manner and allow it to better deal with post-pandemic recovery.
UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili said: “The INSTO network is a platform where we welcome Observatories that are committed to basing the sustainable development of tourism on evidence, participatory approaches and transparency. We are very pleased to welcome Bogotá into the Network as the latest member.”
Inclusive future for Bogotá´s tourismBogotá is home to a wide variety of tourist resources and attractions and has an infrastructure that allows for the development of different high-quality tourism products. As the most popular Colombian destination in terms of tourist numbers, arrivals in 2021 reached almost 6 million, with growth of 49.8% in relation to 2020, contributing US$5.795 billion corresponding to 2.4% of the total GDP of the city, which meant an annual increase of 38.2% between 2020 and 2021. Within the Sustainable Tourism Policy of Colombia 2022, the vision of strengthening the reputation and recognition of Colombia as a sustainable tourism destination is clearly outlined.
The Vice Minister of Tourism Ricardo Galindo Bueno assured that “for the Vice Ministry of Tourism it is great news that the Bogotá’s Tourism Observatory is part of the UNWTO INSTO network, because a tool of these characteristics and qualities, allows public policies of the sector in the district to continue to be nourished by objective measurements that improve decision making”.
Director of the District Institute of Tourism (IDT), Karol Fajardo Mariño explained: “The adhesion of the Bogotá’s Tourism Observatory to the UNWTO INSTO Network will allow us to share with other tourist destinations experiences and development and measurement strategies based on exemplary sustainability, in an effort to respond to the needs of quality tourism information demanded by the sector.”ADVERTISEMENTThe Bogotá’s Tourism Observatory will monitor 11 key areas for tourism sustainability: tourism seasonality, employment, economic benefits of the destination, energy management, water management, wastewater management, solid waste management, climate action, accessibility, local satisfaction and governance, which will facilitate decision-making and the processes of formulating public policies and strengthening the sustainable development of our city.

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