Vacation Days and Impact on Travel

The World Travel and Tourism Council estimates travel and tourism generated $7.6 trillion (10% of global GDP) and 266 million jobs for the global economy in 2014. Recent years have seen travel and tourism growing at a faster rate than other significant sectors of the economy. At its core, the travel industry relies on people to vacation, who in turn rely on time to travel. However, time allotted for travel and vacations differs greatly by country. The amount of vacation time employees receive affects individuals’ lives and is thought to affect their job satisfaction. How much vacation time is available also affects the travel industry and the degree to which regional economies benefit from travel.