Local customers contributed 63% of the 1,8 billion euros in revenue from the Reunion tourism sector in 2019, according to a study by the Overseas Rapid Economic Accounts. The importance of local tourism in Reunion is now the same as the national average, while its share was only 50% in 2005. Sign of growing purchasing power, tourist spending by Reunion residents increased twice as fast as that of foreign tourists between 2010 and 2019. They particularly benefit businesses selling tourist products., for catering and leisure. In 2018, the Reunion tourism industry directly employed 13,550 people (4,7% of total employment on the island, against 5,1% national average). Tourism represents 3,3% of the total added value of the Reunion economy (figure 2019), a share significantly lower than that observed in other tourist islands (23,2% in the Canaries, 12,6% in Fiji, 9,1% in Mauritius). In 2020 and 2021, when the number of external visitors fell due to the health crisis, local customers have brought valuable revenue to the island's tourism businesses. Catering lost only 15% of its turnover in 2020 and 6% in 2021 compared to 2019. The decline was more significant in the hotel industry, but much less catastrophic than in other tourist destinations.
The weight of local tourism revealed by a study
