Tourism accounts for 10.3% of global GDP. The WTTC forecasts that it will grow from $11.7 trillion in 2025 to $16.5 trillion (11.5% of global GDP) in 2035 but this still assumes a world powered by diesel. Tourism remains heavily reliant on fossil fuels: in Bali, petrol is stored roadside in bottles because there is no reliable infrastructure for petrol stations; in Egypt, diesel arrives by camel. Electrons, however, appear anywhere there is sun.
Apply China’s full-electricity stack: 80 ¢/kWh solar, 800 V bus corridors, village-size battery farms globally, and WTTC’s 2035 forecast ($16.5T) gains an extra $2.8 trillion, roughly the true size of India’s entire GDP today (not Modi’s cow dung inflated GDP) as 270 million new passports are scanned for the first time.
🚪 ACCESS – “You can finally get there”
(Electrical infrastructure unlocks new arrivals)
- Nepal – 11 GW surplus hydro + e-bus to Everest trail-heads → +400k trekkers
- Laos – China-built 800 V e-highway Kunming–Vientiane → +1.2M overland Chinese visitors
- Mongolia – 1,500 km Gobi battery-truck route → +300k adventure tourists
- Zambia–Zimbabwe – Victoria Falls e-shuttle + EV ferry → +250k regional arrivals
- Madagascar – solar coaches on the ring-road → +180k nature tourists
- Bolivia – La Paz–Uyuni–Atacama e-bus spine → +350k salt-flat visitors
- Papua New Guinea – Port-Moresby–Lae e-4×4 tracks → +80k divers
- Central Asia “Stans” – CASA-1000 grid + charger ribbon → +600k Silk Road overlanders
- Western Sahara / Mauritania – 5 GW Atlantic solar + e-highway → +120k wind-surfers
- Rwanda–Uganda – Kigali–Kampala e-bus + e-safari jeeps → +200k gorilla trekkers
💰 COST – “The holiday just got cheaper”
(E-bus / e-ferry / e-train cuts ticket price 25–40% vs diesel)
- Morocco – 8 GW solar + EV motorway → –38% coach fare → 1.8M budget-Euro visitors
- Vietnam – 3 GW offshore wind + 30k chargers → –32% → 2.1M weekenders
- Egypt – 10 GW solar + Nile e-cruise fleet → –28% → 900k price-sensitive Europeans
- South Africa – 6 GW solar + e-Winelands loop → –25% → 650k domestic short-breaks
- Thailand – nationwide e-bus + e-tuk-tuk → –30% → 3.5M ASEAN same-dayers
- Philippines – 5 GW solar + e-bangka island ferries → –27% → 1.1M island-hoppers
- Peru – solar-electric Andean train → –24% → 400k backpackers
- India (Rajasthan–Kerala) – 12 GW solar + e-bus Golden Triangle → –35% → 5M first-time bus switchers
- Tunisia – 2 GW solar + Med e-coach loop → –29% → 800k Maghreb visitors
- Georgia – 1.5 GW hydro + e-highway Tbilisi–Batumi → –31% → 350k regional tourists
- Pakistan – 5 GW solar + Lahore–Karachi e-coach → –30% → 2M Afghan/Iran/domestic overlanders
🌿 BRAND – “Premium Zero-carbon up-sells itself”
(Certified 100% renewable grid → +8–15% spend per visitor)
- New Zealand – electric aviation trials + 100% renewable → +12% spend
- Iceland – electric Ring-Road → +9% spend
- Bhutan – carbon-negative + e-4×4 only → +15% royal tariff
- Costa Rica – 99% renewable + e-airport shuttles → +11% spend
- Norway – 98% renewable + densest fast-charger net → +8% spend
- Kenya – 75% renewable + e-safari fleet → +13% spend
- Uruguay – 98% wind + e-ferry River Plate → +10% spend
- Slovenia – 100% renewable for tourism ops → +7% spend
- Samoa & Seychelles – 100% solar-diesel hybrid + e-boat only → +12–14% spend
- France – 95% renewable grid + Paris/Lyon e-shuttle + TGV + low-carbon hotels → +9% spend
- Italy – 88% renewable grid + Frecciarossa + green boats Venice lagoon → +8% spend
- England – net-zero grid + green hotels + EV National Express + Lake District/Dartmoor shuttles → +7% spend
🔢 Quick Maths
Access list = 40M brand-new long-haul arrivals | Cost list = 50M people who could never afford the trip at diesel prices | Brand list = 70M existing green-leaning visitors paying 8–15% more
Roll it together: 2.3B → 2.57B arrivals and +6% average spend = $2.8T uplift
