The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) is projecting the loss of 9.2 million jobs in the U.S. travel and tourism sector in 2020 if barriers to global travel remain.
This new figure comes from WTTC’s latest economic modeling that shows the impact of Covid-19 and the travel restrictions that have put in place during the pandemic.
The latest data suggests that 7.2 million jobs in the U.S. have already been affected and, if nothing is done to alleviate international travel restrictions, 9.2 million jobs, more than half of all jobs in the sector, could be lost.
“Firstly, we would like to take this opportunity to congratulate President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris and we wish them every success in these challenging times,” said Gloria Guevara, WTTC president and CEO. “The U.S. government has a real opportunity to lead the international coordination and save millions of jobs globally and across the U.S.”
Guevara noted that the travel and tourism industry accounts for more than one in every 10 jobs across the U.S. She also pointed out that, worldwide, travel and tourism is one of the most diverse sectors, employing people from all socio-economic backgrounds, including 50 percent of whom are women and 30 percent are youths.
“WTTC, has been at the forefront in leading the private sector in the efforts to restore international travel and rebuild global consumer confidence with several major initiatives,” said Guevara. “We launched our ‘Safe Travels’ stamp, to enable travelers to recognize destinations around the world that have adopted health and hygiene global standardized protocols. We offer to work closely with the U.S. government to recover international travel whilst avoiding transmission, through a four-point list of top priorities.”
The four top priorities identified by the WTTC include the adoption of a comprehensive and cost-effective testing regime at departure to avoid transmission, the reopening of key air corridors such as between New York and London, and international coordination.
“We need to learn to co-exist with this virus and measures should be in place to reactivate both inbound and outbound travel responsibly and avoid further economic and social hardship,” she said.
In North America, WTTC’s research indicates that between 10.8 million and 13.8 million jobs within travel and tourism industry are at risk.
“The numbers show that restarting global travel is an absolute must from an economic and jobs standpoint, and it can be done safely by embracing health and safety guidance and technologies, which have been widely deployed across the travel industry,” said Roger Dow, U.S. Travel Association president and CEO.
Dow stressed the needs for standard guidelines that will lead to the ability to travel safely.
“Moving away from quarantines and implementing the practices that we know will work—chief among them rapid, reliable and efficient testing, the universal wearing of masks in public, and the use of contactless technologies—will help restore confidence and growth,” he said.