A report by the World Travel and Tourism Council, or WTTC, has revealed the full extent of the damage done to the global travel industry in 2020 after business was devastated by the novel coronavirus pandemic.
Globally, the sector’s income slumped by almost $4.5 trillion last year. In 2019, travel and tourism was linked to one in four of all new jobs created around the world. But in 2020, more than 62 million jobs were lost.
International travel spending slumped 69.4 percent from 2019’s levels. Domestic markets also suffered, with a 45 percent reduction in business.
In contrast to an overall global economic shrinkage of 3.7 percent during 2020, the travel sector’s contribution to GDP fell by 49.1 percent.
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