According to the World Travel and Tourism Council, nearly 50 million jobs will be lost. Of those, 30 million will be in Asia. Once the outbreak is over, it is estimated that it will take up to ten months for the industry to recover. With thousands of canceled trips, flights, and rooms, the airline, railway, hospitality, and other sister industries are struggling to keep their head above the water as the virus leaves no country untouched.
Despite the industry's notorious resilience in response to other crises, the Coronavirus pandemic will likely have a longer-lasting effect on international tourism. This is mostly due to slow-paced changes in people's behavior as they will become more cautious about traveling in the future.
Impact Across the Globe
According to the World Tourism Organization, international arrivals will be down by 30% this year, which is equivalent to a loss of up to $450 billion in global tourism receipts. Some countries will suffer a bigger blow than others due to their high reliance on the sector. Following the latest estimations, Asia will experience the largest drop in travel and tourism revenue, with China taking the lion's share of those losses. As far as Europe goes, approximately 1 billion euros in revenue will be lost due to the Covid-19 pandemic, with Spain and Italy being most affected.
Grounding of the Airline Industry
Since the beginning of the global pandemic, few industries have suffered as much and as fast as the airline industry. Airports worldwide have experienced considerable drops in demand, as countries implement travel bans to help the spread of coronavirus.
Consequently, thousands of flights have been grounded, forcing airlines to deal with the pandemic's financial effects. In fact, more than 60% of the world's commercial airlines were padlocked as countries put their populations in quarantine and closed borders.
Halted Hotel Industry
As expected, the airline industry wasn't the only one experiencing a financial downturn. Hotels across the world are facing extreme financial troubles as occupancy rates are plummeting. Naturally, this has impacted millions of jobs.
Just in America, around 45% of all hotel employee jobs have been terminated or will be in the coming months. Such unfortunate news is not surprising as coronavirus is costing the hotel industry nearly $1.4 billion in lost revenue. Countless hotels, motels, resorts, and other rooming facilities (such as Airbnb's) remain closed until further notice, with many of them reaching out to their governments for financial relief.
The Takeaway
With the risks of infection still very high, many travelers will replace famous holiday hotspots with more remote and exotic destinations to avoid the crowds. Once the travel ban is lifted, consider visiting Mongolia and experiencing our land of unique wonders and adventures. You can start by getting in touch with us today!
