The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) estimated that the travel & tourism (T&T) industry would directly contribute $3.4bn to the Lebanese economy in 2017, equivalent to about 7.1% of GDP, compared to about 10% of GDP in 2010. It also anticipated that direct industry employment will reach 123,800 persons in 2017, representing 6.9% of total employment. It expected the sector's direct contribution to the economy to grow by 2.9% in real terms in 2017, and its direct contribution to employment to be unchanged year-on-year.
It added that, since the T&T industry affects all sectors of the economy, its real direct and indirect impact is more significant. As such, it forecast the sector to generate $9.4bn or 19.5% of Lebanon's overall economic activity in 2017, and to employ 338,200 persons, or 18.9% of total employment. It expected the sector's overall contribution to GDP to increase by 2.8% in real terms in 2017, and its aggregate contribution to employment to be nearly unchanged from last year.
The WTTC forecast the direct contribution of the T&T industry to Lebanon's economic activity to rise to $6bn in 2027 in constant 2016 prices, equivalent to 8.8% of GDP; while the broader T&T economy would contribute $16.5bn, or 24.3% of GDP by 2027. It projected the T&T industry in Lebanon to grow by 5.8% in real terms annually between 2017 and 2027, compared to real growth rates of 4.8% in the Middle East and 3.9% globally over the same period. Also, it forecast the T&T industry's direct contribution to grow by 5.8% in real terms yearly during the 2017-27 period compared to real growth rates of 4.6% in the Middle East and of 4% in the world.
Globally, Lebanon ranks in 35th place among 185 countries in terms of the sector's annualized growth rate over the 2017-27 period, and in 33rd place in terms of the expected growth of the sector's direct contribution to GDP over the covered period.
Further, the WTTC projected the number of jobs in the T&T direct industry to grow by 1.7% in real terms annually and to reach 146,600 jobs, or about 9.1% of total jobs in Lebanon by 2027. It also forecast employment in the T&T economy to increase by 1.5% in real terms annually and to reach 392,000 jobs overall, equivalent to 24.4% of total employment by 2027. In comparison, the WTTC forecast direct industry employment in the Middle East to grow by 2.2% over the 2017-27 period and to account for 3.1% of total employment by 2027, while it forecast the T&T economy's employment to expand by 2.4% and to account for 7.7% of the region's total employment.
Lebanon ranks in 132nd place globally in terms of the expected growth rate of the sector's total contribution to employment and in 124th place in terms of the anticipated growth rate of the industry's direct contribution to employment during the 2017-27 period.
In parallel, the WTTC estimated that the T&T industry had a direct contribution of $3.3bn to the Lebanese economy in 2016, equivalent to 7% of GDP, and that direct industry employment reached 123,500 jobs, representing 6.9% of Lebanon's total employment in 2016.
Lebanon This Week – Byblos Bank
28 March
