June 14 (SeeNews) - The direct contribution of the travel and tourism industry to Moldova's economy is expected to rise by 3% in 2017 to a total of 1.4 billion lei ($76.8 million/68.5 million euro), the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) said on Wednesday.
The direct contribution of the travel and tourism industry to the Moldovan economy amounted to 1.3 billion lei, or 1% of the country's gross domestic product (GDP) in 2016, the WTTC said in its Travel & Tourism Economic Impact 2017 report on Moldova.
The value is expected to increase by an annual 5.5% over the next 10 years to 2.4 billion lei, or 1.2% of GDP, in 2027.
Travel and tourism investment in Moldova amounted to 0.7 billion lei in 2016, or 2.2% of total investment, and the WTTC expects it will rise by 4.9% in 2017.
Moldova's travel and tourism sector generated 10,000 jobs directly in 2016, a figure that is forecast to remain unchanged in 2017.
(1 euro = 20.4208 Moldovan lei)