Buenos Aires generates over a half of Argentina´s Travel & Tourism GDP, revealed a new report by the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), Latin America City Travel & Tourism Impact.

Latin America City Travel & Tourism Impact is one of a series of reports by WTTC which looks at the contribution of Travel & Tourism to city economies and job creation. The study covers 65 cities, six of which are in Latin America.

The city’s Travel & Tourism sector accounts for 5.1% of its overall economy and totals US$11.1bn. The sector employs 265,000 people in Buenos Aires, or 3.8% of the city´s workforce. Over a half of Argentina’s tourism GDP (59.1%) is in Buenos Aires, and the city is responsible for 46.3% of jobs in the sector in Argentina.

Buenos Aires has a high reliance on domestic tourism, even though the weak Argentinian peso has made the destination more affordable for foreign visitors in recent years. Overall domestic visitors account for 61% of Buenos Aires’ Travel & Tourism. Over the past decade, the number of overnight visits has more than doubled although this has mainly been driven by the domestic market as improved affordability has not yet been sufficient to attract large volumes of additional international visitors.

Slow international growth can partly be explained by the fact that Brazil, which is Buenos Aires’s top international market, has been suffering a recession in recent years.

International spend is responsible for 14.6% of Buenos Aires’ Travel & Tourism sector. The Argentinian government’s introduction last January of a scheme to allow international visitors to receive a refund of VAT on accommodation, should help to increase international spend in the future.

The total contribution of Argentina´s Travel & Tourism to GDP was ARS775.3bn (US$52.5bn), 9.6% of GDP in 2016. The total contribution of Travel & Tourism to employment, including jobs indirectly supported by the industry was 8.8% (1.58 million jobs). Over the next ten years, 400,000 new jobs will be generated through Travel & Tourism in Argentina. Buenos Aires will host WTTC´s annual Global Summit 18-19 April 2018. The Summit brings together over 900 delegates to discuss the opportunities, challenges and issues facing the industry, while its Tourism for Tomorrow Awards recognise the industry’s power to be a positive force in sustainability.