Coronavirus Could Put 75 Million Travel and Tourism Jobs At Risk

Estimated job losses for the travel industry increased 50 percent in less than two weeks.

Concerns over the coronavirus outbreak have resulted in thousands of cancelled flights and a growing number of hotel closures. In total, the World Travel & Tourism Council estimates coronavirus could put as many as 75 million jobs in the travel and tourism industry at risk.

The latest figures from the WTTC represent a 50 percent increase in less than two weeks; the organization had previously estimated that 50 million jobs would be affected. The new report also suggests the travel and tourism GDP loss to the world economy could be as much as $2.1 trillion in 2020.

According to the WTTC, the Asia-Pacific region is expected to be the most heavily impacted by COVID-19 with up to 49 million jobs at risk. This includes 25.6 million jobs in China and 9 million in India.

The Americas may see as many 10.2 million jobs lost - nearly half of which (4.7 million) will be in the U.S. Europe will be shortly behind with projected job losses around 10.1 million. Amongst Europe, Germany is expected to be hit the hardest (1.6 million), followed by Russia (1.1 million), then Italy and the UK (1 million each).

"The number of jobs now at risk in the global travel and tourism sector is a staggering 75 million, bringing real and profound worry to millions of families around the world. This chilling new figure also represents the collective delay by many governments around the world to react quickly enough to come to the aid of a sector which is the backbone of the global economy," said Gloria Guevara, WTTC president and CEO. "If urgent action is not taken within the next few days, the travel and tourism sector faces an economic meltdown from which it will struggle to recover and plunge millions of people dependent upon it for their livelihoods into debt."

WTTC issued a series of recommendations to help the travel and tourism sector recover once the coronavirus outbreak has been contained. This includes:

    Removing or simplifying the visa process wherever possible to improve travel facilitation
    Relaxing or removing unnecessary barriers at ports and airports
    Reducing or eliminating traveler taxes, such as Air Passenger Duty
    Establishing relief programs and incentives for companies that have been negatively affected by coronavirus
    Increasing budgets and resources for destination marketing and promotion

"At this time, WTTC reinforces the importance of strong public-private partnerships and greater international cooperation in order to respond to and overcome the challenges faced by the sector during the management and recovery from COVID-19," noted the organization. "The travel and tourism sector has a proven track record of resilience in the face of crises and this ability to bounce back has improved significantly in recent years."

Source:  NorthstarMeetingsGroup.com