The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) called upon
governments worldwide to take immediate action to ensure the survival of the
travel industry, warning that any delay could mean millions of jobs lost.
“We are calling upon the world to take urgent and immediate
action to prevent this global health crisis becoming a worldwide economic
catastrophe,” said WTTC CEO Gloria Guevara in an open letter. “Doing nothing is
not an option.”
Calling travel the backbone of economies around the world,
with WTTC figures showing the industry contributes 10.4% of global GDP and 320
million jobs, Guevara said: “Without travel and tourism, economies around the
world face an existential threat.”
WTTC proposed three measures governments should enact to
protect the 320 million people who rely on travel and tourism for their living:
• Grant financial help to protect the
incomes of the millions of workers in the sector facing severe economic
difficulties.
• Extend vital, unlimited
interest-free loans to global travel and tourism companies as well as the
millions of small- and medium-sized businesses as a stimulus to prevent them
from collapse.
• Waive all government taxes, dues and
financial demands on the travel sector immediately for at least the next 12
months.
Guevara said that governments must act now.
“Not soon. Not in a few weeks. NOW,” she wrote, adding that
any delay could cause “almost incalculable damage worldwide.”
“No one can doubt that we are in uncharted territory,”
Guevara added. “The coronavirus pandemic means the world is facing a threat on
multiple fronts not seen in peacetime. The travel and tourism sector is
uniquely exposed, and we estimate 50 million jobs globally are at risk. To put
it bluntly, travel and tourism is in a fight for survival.”