Visualizing the Countries Most Reliant on Tourism

Visualizing the Countries Most Reliant on Tourism

Without a steady influx of tourism revenue, many countries could face severe economic damage.

As the global travel and tourism industry stalls, the spillover effects to global employment are wide-reaching. A total of 330 million jobs are supported by this industry around the world, and it contributes 10%, or $8.9 trillion to global GDP each year.

Today’s infographic uses data from the World Travel & Tourism Council, and it highlights the countries that depend the most on the travel and tourism industry according to employment—quantifying the scale that the industry contributes to the health of the global economy.

Ground Control

Worldwide, 44 countries rely on the travel and tourism industry for more than 15% of their total share of employment. Unsurprisingly, many of the countries suffering the most economic damage are island nations.

At the same time, data reveals the extent to which certain larger nations rely on tourism. In New Zealand, for example, 479,000 jobs are generated by the travel and tourism industry, while in Cambodia tourism contributes to 2.4 million jobs.

Rank	Country	T&T Share of Jobs (2019)	T&T Jobs (2019)	Population
1	Antigua & Barbuda	91%	33,800	97,900
2	Aruba	84%	35,000	106,800
3	St. Lucia	78%	62,900	183,600
4	US Virgin Islands	69%	28,800	104,400
5	Macau	66%	253,700	649,300
6	Maldives	60%	155,600	540,500
7	St. Kitts & Nevis	59%	14,100	53,200
8	British Virgin Islands	54%	5,500	30,200
9	Bahamas	52%	103,900	393,200
10	Anguilla	51%	3,800	15,000
11	St. Vincent & the Grenadines	45%	19,900	110,900
12	Seychelles	44%	20,600	98,300
13	Grenada	43%	24,300	112,500
14	Former Netherlands Antilles	41%	25,700	26,200
15	Belize	39%	64,800	397,600
16	Cape Verde	39%	98,300	556,000
17	Dominica	39%	13,600	72,000
18	Vanuatu	36%	29,000	307,100
19	Barbados	33%	44,900	287,400
20	Cayman Islands	33%	12,300	65,700
21	Jamaica	33%	406,100	2,961,000
22	Montenegro	33%	66,900	628,100
23	Georgia	28%	488,200	3,989,000
24	Cambodia	26%	2,371,100	16,719,000
25	Fiji	26%	90,700	896,400
26	Croatia	25%	383,400	4,105,000
27	Philippines	24%	10,237,700	109,600,000
28	Sao Tome and Principe	23%	14,500	219,200
29	Bermuda	23%	7,800	62,300
30	Albania	22%	254,300	2,880,000
31	Iceland	22%	44,100	341,200
32	Greece	22%	846,200	10,420,000
33	Thailand	21%	8,054,600	69,800,000
34	Malta	21%	52,800	441,500
35	New Zealand	20%	479,400	4,822,000
36	Lebanon	19%	434,200	6,825,000
37	Mauritius	19%	104,200	1,272,000
38	Portugal	19%	902,400	10,197,000
39	Kiribati	18%	6,600	119,000
40	Gambia	18%	129,600	2,417,000
41	Jordan	18%	254,700	10,200,000
42	Dominican Republic	17%	810,800	10,848,000
43	Uruguay	16%	262,500	3,474,000
44	Namibia	15%	114,600	2,541,000

Croatia, another tourist hotspot, is hoping to reopen in time for peak season—the country generated tourism revenues of $13B in 2019. With a population of over 4 million, travel and tourism contributes to 25% of its workforce.

How the 20 Largest Economies Stack Up

Tourist-centric countries remain the hardest hit from global travel bans, but the world’s biggest economies are also feeling the impact.

In Spain, tourism ranks as the third highest contributor to its economy. If lockdowns remain in place until September, it is projected to lose $68 billion (€62 billion) in revenues.

Rank	Country	Travel and Tourism, Contribution to GDP
1	Mexico	15.5%
2	Spain	14.3%
3	Italy	13.0%
4	Turkey	11.3%
5	China	11.3%
6	Australia	10.8%
7	Saudi Arabia	9.5%
8	Germany	9.1%
9	United Kingdom	9.0%
10	U.S.	8.6%
11	France	8.5%
12	Brazil	7.7%
13	Switzerland	7.6%
14	Japan	7.0%
15	India	6.8%
16	Canada	6.3%
17	Netherlands	5.7%
18	Indonesia	5.7%
19	Russia	5.0%
20	South Korea	2.8%

On the other hand, South Korea is impacted the least: just 2.8% of its GDP is reliant on tourism.

Travel, Interrupted

Which countries earn the most from the travel and tourism industry in absolute dollar terms?

Topping the list was the U.S., with tourism contributing over $1.8 trillion to its economy, or 8.6% of its GDP in 2019. The U.S. remains a global epicenter for COVID-19 cases, and details remain unconfirmed if the country will reopen to visitors before summer.

Meanwhile, the contribution of travel and tourism to China’s economy has more than doubled over the last decade, approaching $1.6 trillion. To help bolster economic activity, China and South Korea have eased restrictions by establishing a travel corridor.

As countries slowly reopen, other travel bubbles are beginning to make headway. For example, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania have eased travel restrictions by creating an established travel zone. Australia and New Zealand have a similar arrangement on the horizon. These travel bubbles allow citizens from each country to travel within a given zone.

Of course, COVID-19 will have a lasting impact on employment and global economic activity with inconceivable outcomes. When the dust finally settles, could global tourism face a reckoning?