- The Tourism Industry currently accounts for 10% of global GDP.
- The World Travel and Tourism Council has warned the COVID-19 pandemic could cut 50 million jobs worldwide in the travel and tourism industry.
- Asia is expected to be the worst hit
- Once the outbreak is over, it could take up to 10 months for the industry to recover
As many as 50 million jobs in the global travel and tourism sector are at risk. The coronavirus epidemic has caused the travel sector to slump at least by a quarter this year with Asia being the most affected continent, according to the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC).
The longer the epidemic lasts, the deeper the impact it will be to the industry.
“Certain measures are not helping and they can prompt the economic impact to be way more significant,”
WTTC’s managing director Virginia Messina
According to Messina, most government policies are too generic and not proven to be effective in containing the virus. On The United States restrictions of its citizens to travel to Europe, she said that such restrictions could complicate travel by medical experts and delivery of medical supplies.
Around 850,000 people travel each month from Europe to the United States which is equivalent to a $3.4 billion monthly contribution to the U.S. economy.
Of the 50 million jobs that could be lost, around 30 million would be in Asia, seven million in Europe, five million in the Americas and the rest in other continents.
Jobs around the world in the travel and tourism industry could be reduce by 12% to 14% as a result of a loss of three months of global travel.
By sector, airlines and cruise ships were currently being more impacted than hotels. The tourism industry accounts for 10% of the world’s GDP and jobs.
It is expected that once the out break is under control, it would take up to 10 months for the tourism sector to return to its normal level.
