The Leaders’ Declaration from the annual meeting of the G20 held in Los Cabos, Mexico, on June 18-19 states: "we recognize the role of travel and tourism as a vehicle for job creation, economic growth, and development, and, while recognizing the sovereign right of States to control the entry of foreign nationals, we will work towards developing travel facilitation initiatives in support of job creation, quality work, poverty reduction, and global growth.”

According to WTTC, the industry directly will contribute US$2 trillion in GDP and 100 million jobs to the global economy in 2012.

When the wider economic impacts of the industry are taken into account, travel and tourism is forecast to contribute some US$6.5 trillion to the global economy and generate 260 million jobs – or 1 in 12 of all jobs on the planet.

Research by UNWTO and WTTC, released at the T20 Ministers Meeting last May, showed that the G20 could boost their international tourist numbers by an additional 122 million, generate an extra US$206 billion in tourism exports and create over 5 million additional jobs by 2015 by improving visa processes and entry formalities.

Findings showed that of the 656 million international tourists who visited G20 countries in 2011, an estimated 110 million needed a visa, many of whom were deterred from traveling by the cost, waiting time, and difficulty of obtaining a visa.

Facilitating visas for these tourists, many from some of the world’s fastest-growing source markets such as the BRICs, could stimulate demand, spending, and ultimately create millions of new jobs in the G20 economies.

This is a significant success for the industry, facilitated by the relationship between our two organizations and widely supported throughout the industry.