The travel and tourism sector faces a staggering 100 million job losses due to the pandemic, a more than 30 per cent jump from last month’s forecast, according to the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC).
The WTTC said that it has alerted G20 Tourism Ministers to the extent of the crisis, as they gathered by virtual conference last week. Of the 100.8 million jobs at risk, almost 75 million of them are in G20 countries.
WTTC analysis also shows a sharp escalation in the economic loss to the world economy, up to US$2.7 trillion of GDP, from US$2.1 trillion just a month ago.
The punishing impact of the Covid-19 crisis has led to over one million jobs already being lost every day.
Gloria Guevara, WTTC president & CEO, said: “This is a staggering and deeply worrying change in such a short time. In just the last month alone, our research shows an increase of 25 million in the number of job losses in travel and tourism. The whole cycle of tourism is being wiped out by the pandemic.
“We have alerted the G20 Tourism Ministers… to the extent of the crisis and advised on how governments need to step in swiftly to support and protect our sector.
“Travel and tourism is the backbone of the global economy. Without it, global economies will struggle to recover in any meaningful way, and hundreds of millions of people will suffer enormous financial and mental damage for years to come.”
Travel and tourism contributes 10.3 per cent of global GDP, is responsible for generating one in four of the world’s new jobs, and for nine successive years, has outpaced the growth of the global economy.
