The contribution of the tourism sector to world GDP in 2019 was 10.4%, in 2020 it fell to 5.5% due to the coronavirus pandemic. This is stated in the report of the World Tourism and Travel Council (WTTC), prepared jointly with Oxford Economics.
The report, which covered the impact of COVID-19 on tourism in 185 countries and 25 geographic or economic regions of the world, said the tourism industry lost almost $ 4.5 trillion in 2020. The tourism industry’s contribution to global GDP fell 49%.
It is noted that the overall slowdown in the global economy was 3.7%.
Before the pandemic, international tourism accounted for one in four new jobs in the world and 10.6% of all jobs (334 million).
In 2020, tourism has cut nearly 62 million, or 18.5% of jobs. Now their number in the industry is 272 million, ”the report says.
As pointed out in the WTTC, the threat of losing even more jobs remains, as many of the workers in the sector are supported through government programs to support the industry. However, without the restoration of international travel, it is unlikely that jobs will be saved.
According to the data obtained, in 2020, the expenses of tourists on travel to their countries, according to the obtained data, decreased by 45%, and expenses during foreign travel – up to 70%.