Coronavirus Puts At Risk Up To 50 Mln Travel And Tourism Jobs

Up to 50 million jobs in the travel and tourism sector are at risk due to the global COVID-19 outbreak, according to a global industry body.

Latest figures from the World Travel & Tourism Council show that global travel could be adversely impacted by up to 25 per cent in 2020. This is equivalent to a loss of three months of global travel.

This could lead to a corresponding reduction in jobs of between 12 and 14 per cent, WTTC said in a press release.

Gloria Guevara, WTTC President & CEO, said, “The COVID-19 outbreak clearly presents a significant threat to the industry as a whole, to those employed within it, and those wishing to continue traveling.”

Following extensive consultation with other travel and tourism organizations, WTTC is also calling for a series of measures to be taken, to enable the swift recovery of the sector once COVID-19 is brought under control.

The organization, which represents the global travel and tourism private sector, had criticized the European travel ban imposed by the United States.

Responding to President Donlad Trump’s travel ban on 26 Schengen area countries, WTTC said it will have a damaging impact on the U.S. economy yet won’t stop the spread of the coronavirus Covid-19.

The ban, excluding the UK and Ireland, came into effect on Friday.

It is estimated that 850,000 visitors from Europe would normally travel during the next 30 days to the United States. These visitors would have spent an estimated $3.4 billion while in the country. Two of the airlines most impacted by the ban – Delta and United – are U.S. carriers.

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