On a somber note, World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) research estimated that 100.8 million travel industry jobs could be lost in the wake of the coronavirus crisis.
More somber still, the 100.8 million figure increased by more than 30 percent in the last four weeks, according to the WTTC research, which noted that 75 million of those at-risk jobs are in the European Union's Group of 20 (G20).
The WTTC research also revealed a serious escalation in economic loss to the world economy, rising from $2.1 trillion of gross domestic product (GDP) a month ago to $2.7 trillion today.
The havoc wrecked by the coronavirus has led the loss of more than 1 million jobs a day, WTTC said.
"This is a staggering and deeply worrying change in such a short time," said WTTC President and CEO Gloria Guevara. "In just the last month alone, our research shows an increase of 25 million in the number of job losses in travel and tourism. The whole cycle of tourism is being wiped out by the pandemic."
Broken down by region, the research found that potential job losses could reach 63.4 million, with a GDP loss of more $1 billion in Asia; 13 million job losses and a GDP loss of more than 700 billion in Europe; over 7 million job losses and a GDP loss of almost $53 billion in Africa; 14.1 million job losses with a GDP loss of nearly $800 billion in the Americas; 8.2 million job losses with a GDP loss of more than 680 billion in North America; 4.7 million in job losses with a GDP loss of nearly $84 billion in Latin America; $1.2 million in job losses with a GDP loss of upward of $26 billion in the Caribbean; and $2.6 million job losses with a GDP loss of more than $96 million in the Middle East.
"Travel and tourism is the backbone of the global economy," Guevara said. "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."
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