Tropical islands are the destinations most dependent on money generated from tourism and travel. That’s what a new report by the World Travel and Tourism Council says.The report, released on Thursday, calculates the economic and employment impact of travel and tourism for 185 countries and showed that in 2017, tourism accounted for 10.4% of global GDP and 313 million jobs worldwide, which is about 9.9% of total global employment.The Maldives is the destination that is most reliant on tourist dollars. Travel and tourism represents 39% of its total GDP. Tourism directly supported 34,500 jobs (16.0% of total employment) in the Maldives last year.Following the Maldives is British Virgin Islands, where tourism accounts for 35.4% of GDP. As far as European countries, the most reliant on tourism are Malta (it accounts for 14.2% of GDP), followed by Montenegro (11% GDP), Croatia (10.9% GDP) and Georgia (9.3% GDP).Here are the top 10 countries with the most tourism-dependent economies:1 .Maldives2. British Virgin Islands3. Macau4. ArubaSign up for our daily newsletterEmail addressSign upI would like to subscribe to The Points Guy newsletters and special email promotions. The Points Guy will not share or sell your email. See privacy policy.5. Seychelles6. Curaçao7. Anguilla8. Bahamas9. Vanuatu10. Cape VerdeThe travel and tourism industry grew 50% faster than the overall global economy in 2017, which was a record year for the tourism sector. The industry created 7 million new jobs last year, with 1 in 5 of all new jobs across the world attributed to travel and tourism. By 2028, the industry will support more than 400 million jobs globally, which is about 1 in 9 of all jobs in the world.Featured Image by Matteo Colombo via Getty Images.
