by Donald Wood
Last updated: 10:42 AM ET, Wed March 23, 2022
A new study found that while travel and hospitality faced an increasing number of small business closures due to coronavirus-related issues, the totals were still lower than other major industries.
According to the Global State of Small Business Report from Facebook and Meta, small travel and hospitality businesses reported a closure rate increase from 15 percent in July 2021 to 19 percent in January, which is lower than the 22 percent rate reported in the agriculture, wholesale and retail industries.
From a global perspective, 20 percent of small and medium-sized businesses are closed, a number that has climbed by three percent since July 2021. Minority- and women-owned small businesses reported higher closure totals, at 26 and 25 percent, respectively.
"Despite the setbacks, the survey found a number of reasons to be optimistic for the future," Meta CEO Sheryl Sandberg said. "Overall, businesses globally were less concerned about issues with customer demand and cash flow than they were last summer. And despite the increased closure rates, employment remained stable."
"Approximately 11 percent of businesses reported that employment had increased since the start of the pandemic, the same percentage as in July 2021, with large gains in East Asia and the Pacific, South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa," Sandberg continued. "And eight percent of businesses are currently expanding into additional space for their stores."
Another 34 percent of small and medium-sized businesses reported reduced employment due to the pandemic, while 25 percent currently operate a digital-only business. Only 10 percent intend to run digital-only business operations once the pandemic ends.
Even with the U.S. government looking to lend a helping hand, 64 percent of small and medium-sized businesses reported that they received no financial assistance during the pandemic.
While many small businesses didn't take advantage of the financial assistance available, America's destination marketing organization, Brand USA, received $250 million in relief funding as part of the $1.5 trillion omnibus spending bill.
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