According to recent data from the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) as many as 174 million jobs in the tourism sector will be lost this year on account of the negative effects of the coronavirus outbreak.
The WTTC’s latest economic data reveal that current restrictions on international travel could impact as many as 174 million jobs around the world, a number which is slightly down from previous projections. Tourism officials say the uptick in job losses reflects the return of domestic travel in countries such as China. The data also suggested the easing of current travel restrictions could save as many as 31 million jobs by the end of 2020. WTTC President Gloria Guevara was cited saying:
“Our latest data reveals the gravity of the long-term negative impact facing the global Travel & Tourism sector, if we don’t work together to resume international travel immediately.”
The WTTC president went on to say an international effort is needed in order to mitigate the catastrophic effects of COVID-19 in the near future. Job losses could cost tourism businesses to lose $4.7 trillion, or roughly 53 percent loss this year compared to 2019.
Some days ago, the WTTC presented the 100 Million Jobs Recovery Plan suggesting to the industry the impact of COVID-19. The plan covered a range of key initiatives that hinged on securing strong international coordination to re-establish effective operations and restart travel.
According to WTTC’s 2020 Economic Impact Report, Travel & Tourism was responsible for one in 10 jobs (330 million in total), making a 10.3% contribution to global GDP and generating one in four of all new jobs.
Partially sourced from Travel Pulse and WTTC