The travel and tourism industry in Macau is set to grow 7.2 percent this year, according to a report issued by the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC).
According to the report, in Macau, the direct contribution of travel and tourism to gross domestic product (GDP) in 2013 represented 43.1 percent, mainly reflecting the economic activity generated through hotels, travels agents, airliners and other passenger transportation services.
"This is forecast to rise by 6.8 percent in 2014," the report said.
The research, quoted today by the Macau Daily Times, shows that the direct contribution of the travel and tourism sector to GDP is expected to grow by 4.6 percent by 2024.
In a wider analysis, the total contribution of travel and tourism to GDP, including wider effects from investment, the supply chain and induced income impacts, represented 86.2 percent of GDP, and is expected to grow by 7.2 percent in 2014.
The report also indicated that the sector represent 41 percent of the total employment rate last year, this figure is not due to change much over 2014.
"Travel and tourism directly generated 165,500 jobs in 2013 (41.1 percent of total employment) and this is forecast to grow by 1.0 percent in 2014 to 167,000 (46.8 percent of the total employment)," it reads.
An increase of 1.4 percent is expected over the next ten years, with the travel and tourism sector set to directly account for 191,000 jobs by 2024. The research also found that the total contribution of this
industry to employment was 293,500 jobs over last year, representing 83.8 percent of total employment. This figure is forecast to rise by 2.1 percent this year to 300,000 jobs. By 2024, this industry will help support 367,000 jobs.
According to researchers, Macau will to attract 16,382,000 international tourist arrivals in 2014.
The WTTC carries out the economic analysis on the impact of the travel and tourism sector in 184 countries.(macaunews)
