Travel and tourism supported about 82 million jobs in China and 46 million in India in 2024 — the two largest tourism workforces on earth — followed by the United States at 20.4 million, according to WTTC Economic Impact Research 2025. In absolute terms the ranking follows population and economic size. But the more revealing number is the share of national employment that depends on tourism, and there Thailand leads the field at 20.1%.
Tourism jobs, ranked by absolute count (2024)
| # | Country | Jobs supported | Share of employment |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | China | 82.1 million | 10.9% |
| 2 | India | 46.3 million | 9.1% |
| 3 | United States | 20.4 million | 12.6% |
| 4 | Indonesia | 12.9 million | 9.0% |
| 5 | Brazil | 8.1 million | 7.9% |
| 6 | Thailand | 8.0 million | 20.1% |
| 7 | Mexico | 7.7 million | 13.0% |
| 8 | Germany | 6.1 million | 13.3% |
| 9 | Vietnam | 6.1 million | 11.8% |
| 10 | Japan | 5.9 million | 8.7% |
| 11 | United Kingdom | 4.2 million | 11.4% |
| 12 | Türkiye | 3.2 million | 9.9% |
| 13 | Italy | 3.1 million | 12.9% |
| 14 | Spain | 3.0 million | 13.9% |
| 15 | France | 3.0 million | 9.7% |
Absolute count versus workforce share
The absolute ranking is dominated by the most populous economies — China and India together account for more tourism jobs than the rest of the list combined. That is a function of workforce size, not tourism intensity.
The share column tells the intensity story. Thailand's 8 million tourism jobs are 20.1% of its entire workforce — one in five Thai jobs. Compare that with China, where 82 million tourism jobs are "only" 10.9% of a vast labour force. For a Thai policymaker, the 20.1% figure is the one that matters: it measures how much of the national labour market is exposed to a tourism downturn. We put that exposure in context in the world's most tourism-dependent economies.
Why the employment share runs above the GDP share
In most countries tourism's share of employment is higher than its share of GDP, because tourism is labour-intensive: hotels, restaurants, tour operators and transport employ a lot of people per dollar of output. Spain is a clean example — tourism is 15.6% of GDP but 13.9% of jobs sit close together, while in Thailand the 12.8% GDP share rises to a 20.1% employment share. When you see a large gap between the two, it usually signals a tourism sector weighted toward lower-productivity, higher-headcount activity.
How this is measured
WTTC's employment figure counts jobs supported directly, indirectly and induced across the travel-and-tourism value chain — not only front-desk and food-service roles, but the supply chain and the spending of tourism workers — benchmarked against total national employment from ILO and national labour statistics. Because it is a total-contribution measure, it reads higher than "direct tourism employment" lines published by some statistics offices. For the per-country series, open the tourism statistics hub; Thailand's profile is a useful worked case at Thailand tourism statistics.
FAQ
Which country has the most tourism jobs? China, where travel and tourism supported about 82.1 million jobs in 2024, followed by India (46.3 million) and the United States (20.4 million).
Which country depends most on tourism for employment? Thailand, where 20.1% of all jobs — roughly one in five — are tied to travel and tourism, the highest share in the WTTC set.
How many U.S. jobs depend on tourism? About 20.4 million, or 12.6% of total U.S. employment.
Every figure traces to DataGreat's verified WTTC ledger. Compare markets on the tourism statistics hub, or start a free verified report.
