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The World Tourism and Travel Council predicts a best-case scenario, which will see 111 million jobs return to the travel and tourism sector this year
Chris Tebbutt | Planet Attractions | 25 Jan 2021
Credit: Canva
The World Tourism and Travel Council’s (WTTC) latest economic forecast see’s hundreds of millions of jobs being recovered in 2021.
As the global effects of the pandemic lessen and vaccine programmes across the planet improve, the WTTC forecast predicts that more people ill begin to travel during the summer months.
Conservative estimates see 84 million jobs could return to the sector and, while best estimates see that figure inflated to 111 million. Despite the good news, this would still be 25% decline on the same figures for pre-Covid 2019.
“We’re looking forward to a strong summer of travel, thanks to a combination of mask wearing, the global vaccination rollout and testing on departure unlocking the door to international travel once more,” said Gloria Guevara, WTTC president and CEO.
“Our latest research supports this and shows there is definitely hope on the horizon for the global travel and tourism sector in the year ahead, with the possible recovery of up to 111 million jobs.”
Guevara added that while estimates are promising, tourism and travel businesses must remain vigilant in the face of the pandemic.
“We must guard against complacency as the recovery is not a forgone conclusion. There is still a long way to go and we will encounter many more bumps in the road ahead,” she said.
“Vaccinations in major source markets, such as the UK and the US, will help us navigate our way out of the pandemic into a world where travel can once again thrive.
“We cannot rely solely upon one solution and the rollout of vaccines to restart international travel; testing on departure will still be critical to restore travel while respecting the safe protocols and recovering as many jobs as possible across travel and tourism, and throughout the wider economy.”
According to further WTTC research, tourism will likely contribute somewhere between US$6.5tn and US$7.4tn in 2021. This estimate would represent a decline of somewhere between 17-27% of 2019’s global tourism statistics.
WTTC says that it believes these latest predictions outline the significant challenges faced by the global sector as it prepares for its recovery in the months ahead once the impact of worldwide rollout of vaccination programmes is felt and travel restrictions are eased.
Tourism
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