Academic Assistantship- Task 2

How is COVID-19 affecting the tourism sector?

Yash Paliwal
BBA 2017
20172006
The outbreak of Coronavirus COVID-19 has affected the whole world and its economy,
cause a global recession. The outbreak has brought our world to a standstill with
unprecedented impact in our lives, economies, livelihoods, and has brought about a massive
risk of global recession and massive loss of jobs. The tourism sector has been majorly
impacted by this outbreak, as all form of travel has been restricted. The UNWTO has also
called for solid international leadership and for tourism to be included as a priority in future
recovery efforts. Since, all kinds of interaction with people have been restricted, the tourism
sector has been impacted the most. “The World Travel and Tourism Council has warned the
COVID-19 pandemic could cut 50 million jobs worldwide in the travel and tourism
industry.” Asia will be the most affected continent and it could take up to 10 months to
recover from the pandemic. Of the 50 million jobs that could be lost, 30 million would be in
Asia, 7 million in Europe, 5 million in the Americas and 8 million in the other continents.
("TOURISM AND COVID-19 | UNWTO", 2020)
A lot of countries economies will also be affected. Round 8,50,000 people travel each month
from the US to Europe, which contributes over $3 billion dollars monthly to the U.S.
economy. The tourism industry accounts for 10% of the world’s GDP and jobs. The tourism
sector is the most affected by the outbreak with not only supply, but also demand. This in
turn will cause a weaker world economy, social tensions and also a different performance
among large outbound travel markets. The UNWTO has estimated that a loss of $30 to 50
billion in spending by international visitors.

(Faus, 2020)
India
Cases in India have crossed 22,000 and this has massively impacted the Indian economy and
the tourism sector in India as well. The nationwide lockdown has brought all types of
activities to a standstill. With international and domestic travel closed, demand for aviation
fuel has substantially declined. The Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO) estimates
that the hotel, aviation and the travel sector altogether can face losses of up to Rs.85 billion
due to restrictions that have been implemented on travel throughout the world. A lot of jobs
will also be impacted and the Indian tourism and hospitality industry is predicting a potential
job loss of around 38 million which is around 70% of the total workforce in the sector.
(Maker, 2020)

References
1. Faus, J. (2020). This is how coronavirus could affect the travel and tourism industry.
Retrieved 24 April 2020, from https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/03/world-
travel-coronavirus-covid19-jobs-pandemic-tourism-aviation
2. Maker, A. (2020). Potential impact of Covid-19 on Indian aviation and tourism –
Business Traveller. Retrieved 24 April 2020, from
https://www.businesstraveller.com/business-travel/2020/04/06/potential-impact-of-
covid-19-on-indian-aviation-and-tourism/
3. TOURISM AND COVID-19 | UNWTO. (2020). Retrieved 24 April 2020, from
https://www.unwto.org/tourism-covid-19