[INFOGRAPHIC] Hospitality and Tourism: A Growing Industry
The hospitality and tourism industry has always managed to transform itself. With the advent of technology and the internet, people no longer need to physically book their trips with travel agents. With the increase in number of websites like Expedia, Booking.com, Skyscanner, Kayak, eDreams etc.. (used to book and compare airline tickets, hotel reservations, car rentals, vacation packages and various attractions and services via the internet) booking has been made easy and new services are springing up more than ever: Airbnb, HotelTonight etc… all of which facilitates the process for customers. New types of hotels are on the rise to accommodate the ever-changing needs of customers. More facilities now consider themselves to be “lifestyle” hotels, and more companies are replicating the Airbnb business model, all of which serve the purpose of becoming a ‘home away from home’.
Contrary to popular belief though with recent economic downturns, the industry is still growing and is valued today at $7.17Tr. Hotel revenues themselves have also been rising and are expected to reach $484.49Bn, a 12% increase from 2014. The number of international tourist arrivals worldwide has also slowly been increasing every year. By the end of 2016, the total number is expected to reach 1.23Bn, a 4% increase from 2015 and 30% increase from 2010.
Europe continues to be the most attractive region for travelers encompassing 51% of international tourist arrivals (609 Millions Tourists). Within the top 10 countries featured in the travel and tourism competitiveness index (TTCI), 6 are Europeans including Spain, Germany and France. Asia Pacific comes second in terms of international tourist arrivals with 23% and the Americas themselves welcome 16% of the tourists. The Middle-East and Africa, each represent 5% of tourists’ arrival.
Finally, our research has showed that the travelers that spend the most amongst other nationalities are the Chinese, with a 25% increase in spending in 2015 with $292Bn.
