Task force will meet throughout the year to develop policy recommendations and investment strategies: WTTC
To promote travel and tourism as a key driver of growth, jobs, and resilience across Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), in partnership with the Inter-American Development Bank Group (IDB), has launched a tourism task force under the Americas Business Dialogue (ABD).
In a press statement, WTTC says that the task force will meet throughout the year to develop policy recommendations and investment strategies. Its findings will be presented at the Summit of the Americas at Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic this December, providing a framework for regional cooperation in travel and tourism.
It adds that the launch coincides with new figures from WTTC highlighting the sector’s contribution to the region’s economy. According to the latest Economic Impact Research (EIR), produced with Oxford Economics, travel and tourism contributed USD 714 billion to LAC’s economy in 2024, representing 10 pc of total GDP. The sector also supported 28.2 million jobs, equivalent to one in every eleven jobs in the region.
As per the statement, the global travel body says that international visitor spending reached USD 144.4 billion in 2024, serving as an important source of export income for many countries.
Fabrizio Opertti
“The newly established tourism task force within the Americas Business Dialogue underscores our commitment to positioning the sector as a key engine of economic growth and development in Latin America and the Caribbean. At the IDB, in close collaboration with our private sector partners, we are working to support and promote the region’s tourism potential into tangible and impactful outcomes: greater investment, more jobs, and sustainable regional growth,” says Fabrizio Opertti, Sector Manager, Productivity, Trade and Innovation, IDB.
WTTC says that by 2035, the travel and tourism sector is expected to contribute USD 944.8 billion to the regional economy and support over 35.4 million jobs. This increase of USD 206 billion and 6 million jobs from 2025 reflects the sector’s ability to drive inclusive and sustainable growth.
Additionally, it has identified five key enablers for sustainable growth in LAC, talent and employment, resilient infrastructure and connectivity, digital transformation, business environment and access to finance. But despite these prospects, tourism investment in LAC continues to lag behind global standards. Through ABD Task Force, it aims to place travel & tourism at the core of its long-term development plans.
Christopher Imbsen
“Travel and tourism is one of the most powerful levers for inclusive economic growth in Latin America and the Caribbean. The region has a generational opportunity to put travel and tourism at the centre of their development agenda. With the ABD Task Force now in place, we can drive smarter investment, unlock growth, and deliver jobs and opportunity at scale,” says Christopher Imbsen, Vice President, Policy, WTTC.
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