LONDON — More Travel & Tourism jobs are at risk than initially estimated, says the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC).
A staggering 100 million jobs are at risk of being lost due to COVID-19, up 30% in the last four weeks, indicating the severity of the crisis within the sector.
WTTC gathered with G20 Tourism ministers by virtual conference earlier today to discuss the extent of the crisis, revealing that of the 100.8 million jobs at risk, nearly 75 million of them are in G20 countries.
In addition to a sharp increase in global economic losses (up to US$2.7 trillion of GDP, from $2.1 trillion just a month ago), the COVID-19 crisis has led to over one million jobs already being lost every day.
WTTC President & CEO, Gloria Guevara said, “This is a staggering and deeply worrying change in such a short time. In just the last month alone, our research shows an increase of 25 million in the number of job losses in Travel & Tourism. The whole cycle of tourism is being wiped out by the pandemic.”
Travel & Tourism contributes 10.3% of Global GDP and is responsible for generating one in four of the world’s new jobs. It has outpaced the growth of the global economy for nine successive years.
Guevara continues, “Travel & Tourism is the backbone of the global economy. Without it, global economies will struggle to recover in any meaningful way and hundreds of millions of people will suffer enormous financial and mental damage for years to come.”
Scale of the Crisis – WTTC Analysis
US$billion figures are based on 2019 prices and exchange rates
