from PHYLLIS BIRORI in Kigali, Rwanda
Rwanda Bureau
KIGALI, (CAJ News) – THE World Travel and Tourism Council’s (WTTC’s) 23rd Global Summit has kicked off in Kigali, Rwanda with a strong message of recovery for the sectors.
The latest data from WTTC and its partner, Oxford Economics, shows that global travel is surging back, with all regions recovering faster than previously expected, with Asia-Pacific leading the way.
“Our latest data highlights our sector’s enduring appeal and resilience and is recovering faster than anticipated,” said WTTC President and Chief Executive Officer, Julia Simpson.
“This trend underlines the longstanding consumer appetite for travel, and despite China’s full recovery potential yet to be realised, the global sector’s performance is exceeding expectations.”
WTTC recently launched the latest industry-shaping Environmental Impact Research data (ESR), in partnership with the Sustainable Tourism Global Centre (STGC), part of the Ministry of Tourism of Saudi Arabia.
Last year, during the WTTC Global Summit in Riyadh, the two organisations launched the collaboration and unveiled the inaugural results including the sector’s accurate greenhouse gas emissions for the first time ever.
This represents the most comprehensive environmental data in travel and tourism’s history including the sector’s energy, and water use footprint.
According to the data, travel and tourism was responsible for 8,1 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in 2019, some 10,6 percent of total global energy and 0,9 percent of freshwater use.
The groundbreaking ESR data covers 185 countries across all regions and will be updated each year with the latest figures.
Building upon WTTC’s world-renowned Economic Impact Research, this initiative introduces individualized factsheets for each country and major global regions, and a dedicated microsite allowing users to explore the data in detail.
– CAJ News