Much of the discussion at the World Travel and Tourism Summit in Japan focused on the global nature of the industry, and research was released during the summit suggesting that the sector’s total contribution to world gross domestic product was 9.1% in 2011.
But Paul Hoff, the director of Asia-Pacific business development for FTSE, the British stock exchange, did an analysis of equity markets and found that “Travel & Leisure,” which includes airlines, hospitality, casinos, cruise lines, restaurants and other industry-related stocks, amounted to only 2.3% of total global market equity.
TC’s conclusion?
Either the public companies are making an outsized contribution to global GDP, or it’s the unsung small and privately held businesses that actually account for the majority of economic activity tied to travel and tourism.