European Travel & Tourism growth threatened by poor infrastructure planning

Of the 41 European countries analysed in the report, Austria, Germany and the United Kingdom are the best placed over the next decade.

The Travel & Tourism sector makes a substantial contribution to European economies.

In 2014, including its direct, indirect, and induced impacts, Travel & Tourism supported 33.5 million jobs and made nearly €1.6 trillion in contribution to gross domestic product (GDP), or 9.3% of total European GDP.

In addition, Travel & Tourism is a key to recovery for countries hit hardest by recession and the Eurozone crisis, including Greece, Spain, and Portugal.

Travel & Tourism is forecast to grow as fast, if not faster, than the economy overall in every major European region, putting pressure on infrastructure capabilities and increasing the need for additional infrastructure investment.

This report shows that several countries could fail to achieve baseline forecasts for Travel & Tourism GDP and jobs, and fall behind in global competitiveness terms, due to limited infrastructure and underinvestment relative to Travel & Tourism demand.

The 41 European countries studied in this report are expected to invest €2.1 trillion in Travel & Tourism between 2015 and 2025, which is 5% of all forecasted European investment over the period.

The WTTC report uses three categories to identify country typologies, ranging from those that are at risk of losing Travel & Tourism infrastructure competitiveness over the next decade, to those that are well-placed to benefit from forecasted investment spend between 2015 and 2025:

1. Well-placed: This group of countries, exemplified by Austria, Germany and the United Kingdom, has high existing quality and capacity of Travel & Tourism infrastructure which they are expected to maintain and improve between 2015 and 2025. With investment growth expected to outpace demand over that period, these countries are well-placed to capture the full benefits of forecasted Travel & Tourism demand.

2. Well-placed, but with key risks: France, Italy, Switzerland, Ireland, and Greece are one set of countries included in this category. Each of them has existing Travel & Tourism quality and capacity that is greater than the European average.

Yet their strong positions are likely to deteriorate somewhat over the next decade, since Travel & Tourism demand growth is forecast to outstrip Travel & Tourism investment growth over the period.

3. At medium or high risk: This category includes countries like Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Moldova, which are considered to be at high risk because they have the poorest existing infrastructure quality and capacity of the 41 countries studied in this report.

Croatia, Serbia, and Slovakia are also considered at risk, because Travel & Tourism investment growth is expected to lag behind demand growth over the next decade.