Global tourism industry to lose 174m jobs due to COVID-19 travel restrictions
Travel Biz News —
About 174 million travel and tourism jobs could be lost in 2020 , according to new figures released by London based World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC).
“If the current restrictions to international travel continue through to the end of 2020 – resulting in a limited recovery – the impact will be devastating, with as many as 174 million jobs lost globally,” WTTC said.
The Council warned that there could be 197 million job losses worldwide in June.
“The positive gain is in most part driven by the return of domestic travel in countries such as China, which has shown a particularly strong recovery of its domestic market. It has also implemented a comprehensive testing and contact tracing programme, alongside health and hygiene protocols, further contributing to this significant increase.”
However, the analysis shows that should current travel restrictions be removed sooner, globally, a staggering 31 million jobs could be saved by the end of 2020.
Prolonged travel restrictions could also eliminate $4.7 trillion in the sector’s contribution to global GDP, equating to a loss of 53 per cent compared to 2019.
Recently, G20 Tourism Ministers hosted more than 45 CEOs and Members of WTTC who, at the request of Saudi Arabia, presented the 100 Million Jobs Recovery Plan to save the already crippled Travel & Tourism sector, and 100 million jobs globally.
Among other measures, this included eliminating quarantines and other travel barriers through the implementation of an international testing regime, combined with rigorous health and safety protocols, to enable the world to adapt to living with the COVID-19 virus while minimizing the risk of it spreading further.
Travel and Tourism was responsible for one in 10 jobs (330 million in total) , making a 10.3 per cent contribution to global GDP and generating one in four of all new jobs, according to WTTC’s 2020 Economic Impact Report.
October 31 ,2020
Image : Chinese tourists in Cambodia . Photo- news.cn
