Tourism sector lost 62 million jobs worldwide due to pandemic

The World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) released a document offering investment recommendations for governments and tourist destinations seeking to rebuild their struggling tourism and commercial airline markets.

With the outbreak of the global coronavirus pandemic in March 2020, international travel of all kinds experienced the unprecedented situation of having to shut down operations altogether. This situation has meant one of the most important crises in their history for the industries which live from it.

Julia simpson, President and CEO of WTCC said: “It is essential that stakeholders focus on facilitating travel and diversifying income-generating activities, among other opportunities.”

The report reveals that The contribution of the travel and tourism sector to global GDP fell from nearly US $ 9.2 trillion in 2019 to just US $ 4.7 trillion in 2020, representing a loss of almost US $ 4.5 trillion . In addition, as the pandemic swept through the heart of the sector, 62 million travel and tourism jobs lost worldwidewhile many others remain in danger.

On the other hand, capital investments fell by almost a third (29.7%) last year, from US $ 986 billion in 2019 to just US $ 693 billion in 2020.

In the WTCC report, Mark the damage, a member of Bespoke Capital Partners, said that “To accelerate the recovery of international travel and attract investment, governments must work together in an organized and coordinated response.”

In the same vein, the International Air Transport Association spoke in Argentina (IATA) by repeatedly calling for the creation of a joint working table between the Government and the entity, which brings together 82% of the world’s airlines.

However, that meeting did not take place and airlines continue to call for further easing of restrictions. “We keep asking for the same 3 things: eliminate the daily passenger quota -that today and until October 1 is set at 2300-, remove mandatory quarantines and finally reopen international bordersThey told IATA.

In this direction, Felipe Baravalle, executive director of the Argentine Airline Chamber (Jurca), said Infobae What “We must abolish the PAÍS tax and the 35% levy it entails, with that we would begin to see the resumption of outbound tourism, which is very important for increasing the occupancy rate of our flights.”

The tax burden on aviation activity has also been the subject of a severe declaration by the Brazilian Minister of Education, Gilson Machado Neto. “It is not democratic to impose 30% on citizens who want to go to another country, mainly those of Mercosur,” said the Brazilian official in a video. Who will it benefit from? Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay, ”he continued.

“I hope they will realize what Mercosur is and the importance of the flow of bilateral touristsBecause even though Argentina sent more tourists here, Brazilians who went to Argentina spend more. If we stopped spending there it would be worse for them. We are the most important source of tourists for each other, so I ask Argentina to reconsider its position at least with regard to the Mercosur countries ”, concluded Machado Neto on this occasion.

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