Istanbul's popular tourist sights Sultanahmet Square and Hagia Sophia left deserted amid the spread of COVID-19, May 21, 2020.
International tourism is set to fall by 70% this year, marking the sector's biggest slump since records began in the 1950s, the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili said.
In an interview with German newspaper
Handelsblatt, Pololikashvili said this prediction for the coronavirus-hit sector was based on the assumption that countries around the world would gradually open their borders from August.
UNWTO forecasts published in early May suggested that
the number of tourists worldwide could fall by between 60%-80% in 2020 as a result of the pandemic.
The agency suggested that so-called air corridors allowing tourists to travel between countries at low risk of coronavirus contagion could help to restart the global tourism industry. The corridors would represent the "first steps" towards re-establishing international links, Pololikashvili said Wednesday.
The idea has already gained traction in parts of Europe. Officials in Spain's tourism-reliant Balearic Islands have suggested German travelers should be allowed to fly back as soon as possible. Countries with
large tourism sectors in Europe and beyond have suffered badly as travel restrictions have decimated visitor numbers and left many businesses that rely on the trade struggling to survive.
Pololikashvili said the UNWTO had opposed the travel shutdowns from the start and criticized the coordination of lockdown measures as chaotic. He called on the European Union to reopen not only to tourism within the bloc but also to external countries such as Turkey, arguing that it was "impossible to have 100% security" from the virus.
In March alone, tourist arrivals dropped by 57% after lockdowns and travel restrictions were imposed in many countries. The 67 million fewer international tourists in the three months to March has already translated into $80 billion of lost exports.
Comment: And, needless to say, the airline industry has taken a very big hit
leaving many working in that sector unemployed - or about to be:
International carriers which have been suffering massive losses due to the coronavirus crisis are massively cutting their workforce, leaving thousands without jobs. More cuts could come as the prospects for a quick recovery fade.
Europe's top airlines said they would have to ax tens of thousands of jobs in order to cut costs because of the rapidly deteriorating medium-term outlook for aviation. According to the general secretary of the British Airline Pilots' Association, Brian Strutton, aviation workers face a "tsunami of job losses."
Ryanair, Lufthansa, British Airways, Scandinavian Airlines, and Air France-KLM could shed as many as 32,000 jobs among them. The Irish discount carrier Ryanair will cut 3,000 jobs and keep 99 percent of flights grounded through June, adding to a mounting employment toll that includes 12,000 cuts at British Airways and 5,000 at SAS AB.
EasyJet announced on Thursday it will cut up to 30 percent of its workforce and reduce its fleet, with CEO Johan Lundgren saying these were "very difficult decisions."
[...]
While the pandemic has led to a 96 percent plunge in air travel within the United States, the nation's airlines are not allowed to implement any layoffs as a condition of their $25 billion bailout package. However, the ban only runs until September 30.
United Airlines has already told staff it plans job cuts of at least 30 percent on October 1. According to reports, a third of United's 12,250 pilots may have to leave the company. Other airlines, including Delta, also have warned of coming job cuts.
Around 100,000 employees at the four major US airlines (American, United, Delta, and Southwest) have also agreed to take salary cuts or unpaid leave, some for as long as nine months.
American Airlines announced on Thursday it is planning to cut 30 percent of its management and support staff, a reduction of about 5,000 jobs, because of the toll the pandemic is taking on the business. The carrier had about 130,000 employees at the end of 2019 and so far, about 39,000 have taken voluntary leave or early retirement.
Comment: And, needless to say, the airline industry has taken a very big hit leaving many working in that sector unemployed - or about to be: