New cruise ship rescues French economy from stalling this quarter. Its delivery boosts goods exports, propelling GDP to 0.5%, surpassing economists’ 0.1% estimate.
According to the Cruise Lines International Association, the industry is one of the fastest-growing in the tourism sector and is forecast to grow further in the coming years.
Sailing Towards Revival
- French-built and LNG-powered MSC Euribia sets sail with 2,419 cabins, creating a new channel for European services trade.
- MSC, the Swiss shipping giant, offers week-long voyages from Southampton, UK, to France, Belgium, and the Netherlands, starting at £499 ($633).
- It offers five pools, 21 bars and more than 100 hours of live entertainment. But in economic terms, it’s a 331-meter-long (1,086-foot-long) vessel for services trade carrying as many as 6,300 consumers who like to spend money on land, too.
“When you think about tourism, you think about people traveling. You might see the economic impact, but in many cases you don’t see it as an export category,” said Sandra Carvao, director of market intelligence and competitiveness at the UN World Tourism Organization. “However, at the end of the day international tourism represents an entrance of money from the visitor economy into the destination country.”
Global Tourism Surges
Prior to the pandemic, exports from international tourism accounted for 28% of the world’s trade in services and 7% of overall exports of goods and services, according to the UNWTO.
The sector was hammered by the pandemic. The sector is now recovering. International tourism receipts — the expenditures by international inbound visitors — reached $1 trillion in 2022, and grew 50% in real terms compared with 2021, driven by the rebound in global travel.
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Source: Bloomberg
