With the COVID-19 outbreak classified as a global pandemic earlier this week, the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) has come forward stating that the coronavirus has put up to 50 million jobs in the Travel & Tourism sector at risk.
According to the WTTC, international travel can be negatively impacted by up to 25% this year, which is equivalent to the loss of three months of global travel. This could lead to a 12-14% loss of jobs in the industry.
The organization has also criticized the ban on travel from Europe to the U.S. recently issued by the president. The WTTC suggests that the ban will damage the U.S. economy without actually preventing the spread of the virus.
"We all share the priority to stop the spread and should take all necessary actions," WTTC CEO Gloria Guevara said in a statement. "However, the new travel ban will have a dangerous economic impact on the U.S. and many other countries, and there is little evidence to show this will stop the spread of Covid-19."
The WTTC is currently working in partnership with the public sector to prevent the loss of nearly 50 million jobs in the industry. It is also taking a series of measures to guarantee the Travel & Tourism's speedy recovery once the coronavirus is under control.
Policies that the WTTC is working to implement include:
-Improving travel facilitation.
- Removing barriers such as slot restrictions.
- Easing fiscal policies such as air taxes.
-Introducing introduce relief and incentives to businesses negatively impacted by the virus.
- Supporting support destinations with increased budgets and for marketing and product development purposes.
"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," said Guevara.
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