(MENAFN- Muscat Daily) Muscat -
Oman's tourism sector, touted as a penultimate solution for generating jobs as a part of the government's diversification efforts, could generate additional 50,000 employment opportunities in the next ten years, according to a report.
World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) in a recent report revealed that the travel and tourism sector could provide additional employment to 260,500 people by 2029, the number is around 50,000 higher than the present figure of 209,900 people engaged in such activities.
In its annual analysis quantifying the global economic and employment impact of travel and tourism in 185 countries and 25 regions, WTTC research report indicated that the travel sector accounted for 10.4 per cent of global GDP and provide 319mn jobs, which is roughly equal to 10 per cent of the total global employment in 2018.
The report also forecast that in the next ten years, travel and tourism sector is likely to generate over 100mn additional jobs across the world as more and more people travel overseas thanks to the availability of cheaper air travel. This means, one in every four new jobs will be created by the travel and tourism sector over the next decade.
WTTC report said that in 2018, foreign inbound tourists contributed RO1.21bn or US$3.15bn to Oman's economy. According to the report, India, which contributes significantly to the sultanate's foreign workforce, also accounted for the maximum, 19 per cent of the total foreign tourists arrived in 2018, while neighbouring country United Arab Emirates came at the second place with just 11 per cent share in inbound arrivals.
As per the report, around 2.8mn visitors from different countries are expected to visit the sultanate this year. It also indicated that around 68 per cent of the total money spent by tourists is on leisure activities while business spending accounts for the remaining 32 per cent share in overall spending.
The report indicates that travel and tourism sector has accounted for one in five of all net new jobs created across the world over the past five years.
Factors influencing the flow of travellers around the world, such as the attractiveness of the destination and its currency strength, will continue to affect traveller behaviour in the coming year, it added.
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