By Tony Winterburn • Published: 13 Mar 2020 • 10:24
Gloria Guevara, WTTC President & CEO, said: “WTTC figures show the stark impact on the Travel & Tourism sector of the present COVID-19 outbreak
Gloria Guevara, WTTC President & CEO, said: “WTTC figures show the stark impact on the Travel & Tourism sector of the present COVID-19 outbreak with analysis now suggesting that up to 50 million jobs are at risk in the sector globally”.
Tourism in Spain is the third major contributor to national economic life after the industrial and the business/banking sectors, contributing about 10–11% of Spain’s GDP. It is a worry as Spain already has one of the highest unemployment rates in Europe. According to recent data, over 2million people are employed across Spain in the Travel and Tourism industry and is one of the main employers on the Costa-Del-Sol.
“When the time is right, WTTC and the global private sector will be ready to help and support the government and countries to recover”
The latest figures from WTTC, which represents the global Travel & Tourism private sector, show that global travel could be adversely impacted by up to 25 percent in 2020. This is the equivalent to a loss of three months of global travel. This could lead to a corresponding reduction in jobs of between 12 and 14 percent.
“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.
“Travel & Tourism has the strength to overcome this challenge and will emerge stronger and more robust by taking all necessary measures to tackle COVID-19 and the understandable concern which surrounds it.”
Following extensive consultation with other Travel & 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 under control.
WTTC will offer its support to all governments, particularly those which are implementing strong policies for a prompt recovery such as:
At this time, WTTC reinforces the importance of strong public-private partnerships and greater international cooperation in order to respond and overcome the challenges faced by its members during the management and recovery from COVID-19.
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