The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) have released its Cities Economic Impact Report sponsored by Visa and researched in partnership with Oxford Economics, revealing that Orlando played the largest role in the domestic travel industry's recovery in 2022.
Based on the reports findings, Orlando was the largest U.S. Travel and Tourism city destination in 2022 with an economic contribution of over $31 billion, which represents 20 percent of the city’s total GDP and marks a recovery above pre-pandemic 2019 levels by a whopping $2.7 billion.
Las Vegas came in as the nation's second largest Travel and Tourism market with a direct GDP contribution of $23 billion last year, surpassing the 2019 baseline by 5.3 percent.
Miami cane in at number three, recording a GDP comeback last year of $11.1 billion that exceeded pre-pandemic Travel and Tourism contributions by as much as 5 percent despite a significant 56 percent drop in economic contribution from the sector in the pandemic-plagued 2020.
New York City came in at number 4, while Los Angeles came in at number 5.
"It was a fightback year for cities across the country in 2022. Destinations like Orlando, Miami, Chicago and Las Vegas are back stronger than ever before thanks to the relaxation of pandemic restrictions and a strong rebound of consumer confidence," WTTC President and CEO Julia Simpson said.
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