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Dubai: The UAE topped the list of 11 countries in the Middle East in terms of the travel and tourism sector's contribution to the gross domestic product, followed by Jordan and Lebanon, according to a latest World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) report based on Tourism Satellite Accounting (TSA).
"Among the 11 countries the UAE remains in pole position with a GDP contribution of 22.6 per cent and growth rate of 13.5 per cent in 2008, followed by Jordan at 19.2 per cent and Lebanon at 18.7 per cent," it said.
The Middle East travel and tourism sector is expected to generate revenue worth approximately $250 billion in 2008, rising to $456 billion over the next 10 years, according to the report.
Globally, the sector is expected to generate close to $8 trillion in 2008, rising to approximately $15 trillion over the next 10 years.
The TSA results reveal that travel and tourism will contribute to 11.1 per cent of the Middle East GDP in 2008, with a growth rate increasing to seven per cent in 2008 from 6.1 per cent in 2007.
The trend will support 10.3 per cent of total employment in the region - approximately 5.7 million jobs.
WTTC president Jean-Claude Baumgarten said: "Emerging markets are expected to grow rapidly and remain increasingly active as investors, both in Western economies as well as in regions such as the Middle East. This will, consequently, drive business travel.
"Similarly, high oil and other commodity prices are supporting rapid economic growth and increased demand for travel and tourism in the Middle East and the former Soviet Union, and also enabling massive investment programmes in unlocking the potential of travel and tourism as an engine for economic development."
Regionally Africa, Asia Pacific and the Middle East are experiencing higher growth rates than the world average, at 5.9 per cent, 5.7 per cent and 5.2 per cent respectively.
Bahrain leads as the fastest growing country over the next 10 years in terms of travel and tourism demand with an annual growth rate of 5.9 per cent, followed by Qatar at 5.6 per cent and Oman at 5.0 per cent.
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