A landmark new report from the World Travel and Tourism Council has confirmed what the industry has long believed, tourism not only recovers from crises but frequently comes back stronger.
The report, Accelerating Travel and Tourism Recovery: Global Evidence from Four Decades of Crises, was launched aboard Crystal Serenity as global leaders transited the Suez Canal during WTTC’s first-ever Leadership Cruise in Egypt. It draws on data from 100 significant crisis events over four decades to confirm that no destination has suffered long-term collapse once a crisis has ended.
Gloria Guevara, WTTC President and CEO, said the report sent a clear and evidence-based message to the world.
“Travel and Tourism always recovers. This report proves what our sector has demonstrated time and again: resilience is built into our DNA. Even after the most severe crises, people continue to travel, and destinations come back stronger,” Ms Guevara said.
The findings come at a critical moment for global travel, with the sector contributing $11.6 trillion to global GDP in 2025 and supporting 366 million jobs worldwide. Even following the COVID-19 pandemic, the most severe global shock in modern history, international travel rebounded from a 72 per cent decline in 2020 to 1.47 billion arrivals by 2024, with international visitor spending reaching a record $2.02 trillion in 2025.
The report identifies four pillars for building resilient tourism: restoring traveller confidence, maintaining business continuity, ensuring decisive institutional response and driving long-term structural adaptation. It also outlines five key principles for policymakers, including investing during the trough of a crisis, protecting small businesses and maintaining air connectivity.
