World tourism projected to generate $2 trillion in 2012, up 2.8%

This post has been corrected. See the note at the bottom for details.

If you plan to travel this year, you may be helping to contribute $2 trillion to the world’s economy.

The global travel and tourism industry is expected to generate at least $2 trillion in spending in 2012 and support more than 100-million jobs, according to a forecast released Wednesday.

The report by the World Travel & Tourism Council predicts that the world’s travel and tourism industry will grow by 2.8% in 2012.

The impact of the spending on travel and tourism should also spark spending on related industries, generating an overall impact of $6.5 trillion to the global economy and supporting 260 million jobs, the report said.

By comparison, the world’s travel and tourism industry generated $6.3 trillion in direct and indirect spending and supported 255 million jobs in 2011.

“It is clear that the travel and tourism industry is going to be a significant driver of global growth and employment for the next decade,” said David Scowsill, president of the World Travel & Tourism Council, a trade group for the global travel industry.

The travel and tourism industry in North America is expected to grow by 1.3% while travel across the European Union should decline by 0.3% because of the economic uncertainty and a drop in spending among worried Europeans, the report concluded.

The fastest growth in tourism spending should come from Asia, particularly India and China, where surging incomes are expected to boost domestic travel, the report said.

For the record, 3 p.m. March 7: A previous version of this story said the impact of global travel and tourism is expected to spark spending on related industries, generating an overall impact of $6.5 billion. That figure should be $6.5 trillion.

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