Overview

• Unveiled at the 25th Global Summit in Rome, the WTTC report projects 91 million new Travel & Tourism roles by 2035 after a record 357 million jobs in 2024 and an expected 371 million in 2025.
• Despite growth, worker supply is forecast to fall more than 43 million short of demand by 2035, a 16% gap concentrated in high‑interaction roles that are difficult to automate.
• Hospitality faces an 8.6 million staffing gap, and the sector expects to need more than 20 million additional low‑skilled roles to maintain service levels.
• Largest absolute shortfalls are projected in China (16.9 million), India (11 million) and the EU (6.4 million), with the steepest relative gaps in Japan (29% below demand), Greece (27%) and Germany (26%).
• WTTC notes global investment topped $1 trillion in 2024, warns U.S. international visitor spending could drop $12.5 billion in 2025 without policy shifts, and calls for youth outreach, education alignment, retention, digital and AI upskilling, and flexible recruitment and visa policies.