Bizarre stories of thousands of tourists marooned on cruise ships in various parts of the world, prevented from disembarking at various ports on account of concerns about the spread of the coronavirus could be just the tip of the iceberg insofar as the longer-term impact of the virus on the global tourism sector is concerned if World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC)-envisaged longer-term impact of the virus on the sector is even remotely realistic.
Earlier this month the WTTC warned that the COVID-19 outbreak could cause around 50 million jobs worldwide to vanish from the sector. Moreover, once the outbreak of the deadly virus disappears, the WTTC is projecting that it could take up to ten months before the sector musters a recovery of sorts.
Of the 50 million possible job losses in the tourism sector, around 30 million would be in Asia, seven million in Europe, five million in the Americas.
Once the outbreak is over, it could take Asia, as the worst affected, up to 10 months for the industry to recover.
With the tourism industry accounting for around 10% of global GDP, the impact of that level of job losses could have a devastating knock-on effect in some countries, the WTTC says.
While the likely overall slump by around 25% in tourist travel in 2020 is projected to hit the tourism industry in Asia, the other heavily tourism-dependent countries in the Americas, including Caribbean countries, are likely to be affected as well. This full impact of the virus on the sector, the WTTC says, would depend on how long the epidemic lasts. Additionally, its impact could also be exacerbated by recent restrictive measures, such as those taken by the U.S administration on travel to Europe.
With there being no reliable estimates up to this point as to just how long the coronavirus will persist, the WTTC estimates that the equivalent to a loss of three months of global travel in 2020 could lead to a corresponding reduction in jobs of between 12% and 14%.
Meanwhile, with the coronavirus certain to hit the tourism sector hard, the WITTC wants governments to do what they can to remove pressure from the sector at this time by removing visa requirements or simplifying procedures, cutting travel taxes and introducing incentives once the epidemic is under control.
