Travel and tourism accounts for approximately what share of the world’s GDP?

• A. 15%
• B. 3%
• C. 9%
• D. 20%

Answer: (C)

Travel and tourism has a large economic footprint because it includes not just what visitors spend directly on hotels, meals, and attractions, but also the ripple effects through suppliers, wages, and local investment. When economists estimate its global impact, the result is a substantial share that sits in the middle of the options provided—significant enough to be a major contributor, but not so large that it would dominate world GDP. The lower choice underestimates how broadly tourism affects the economy, while the higher choices overstate it given typical measurements and years studied. So the best choice is the one that reflects travel and tourism as a major, influential part of global GDP without implying it is the majority of the economy. Keep in mind that numbers can vary by year and by methodology, but the idea remains: tourism is a major economic driver with wide-reaching effects.