The global travel and tourism industry lost US$5.5 trillion in 2020
The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) recently released an economic impact report (EIR), which provided a mind-blowing revelation on the total impact of COVID-19 on global tourism, in financial terms. As per the report/WTTC, the industry suffered a loss of nearly US$ 4.5 trillion in 2020.
Gloria Guevara, chief executive of WTTC said: “We must praise the prompt action of governments around the world for saving so many jobs and livelihoods at risk, thanks to various retention schemes, without which today’s figures would be far worse. However, WTTC’s annual economic impact report shows the full extent of the pain our sector has had to endure over the past 12 months, which has needlessly devastated so many lives and businesses, large and small. Clearly no one wants to go through what so many have had to suffer during the past difficult 12 months.”
The report goes on to reveal that the contribution from tourism to global GDP fell steeply by 49% last year - in sharp contrast to the overall global economy, which dropped by just 3.7% last year.
The full extent to which, an industry, struggling to survive in a hopeless environment where travel ground to a virtual halt amidst wide-spread quarantines can be seen, where the sector’s contribution of approximately US$ 9.2 trillion (10.4% of the global economy) in 2019, plunged to US$ 4.7 trillion (5.5% to global GDP) in 2020.
A loss of US$ 5.5 trillion last year over that contributed by global travel and tourism to the world’s GDP is a huge number – one that is hard to truly grasp. When written in full, it would read: $ 5,500,000,000,000. And, that is a big hole in the pocket.
A thriving and vibrant global tourism industry accounted for 10.6% (334 million) of the world’s total employment figure in 2019, to the extent that one-in-four of all new jobs around the world was generated by the sector.
As COVID-19 tightened its grip on the world, it tore out the life of tourism, leaving over 62 million persons employed in the industry without jobs. The jobs lost represented a 18.5% drop, whilst holding the sword of Damocles over the heads of the balance 272 million employed worldwide, across the industry. The double whammy to thousands of businesses within the industry was when international travel spending, alarmingly plummeted 69% over the previous year (2019).
According to the latest data from UNWTO, the pandemic led to a 73% fall globally in international tourist arrivals in 2020. The drop has been even steeper in Asia-Pacific where ADB estimates a decline of over 80% for 2020, as many Asian countries continued to impose strict travel restrictions.
The above numbers make 2020 all the more unforgettable…for all the nightmarishly bad reasons. However, 2021 is where we are now, and, although we are still in the grip of the pandemic, the global vaccine rollouts provide a glimpse of hope. As we get nearer that elusive ‘light-at-the-end’ of the tunnel, the prayer on everyone’s lip is that we can gain some firm traction in controlling the spread of the virus.
When that happens, and border controls are relaxed; tourism will recover, GDP’s will rise and we will travel once again…with a vengeance.
Ilzaf Keefahs is a freelance writer who enjoys focusing on hospitality related matters that he is passionate about, and likes to share his views with hoteliers and customers alike. He delves into the heart of hospitality to figure out both customer service and consumer trends that impact the industry.
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