Caribbean and Latin America to expect a $230-billion loss in tourism, says WTTC
12.4 million job cuts expected
The Word Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) expects a $230 billion worth of losses in the Caribbean and Latin America due to the decimated tourism industry caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
In a Reuters report, the president of the WTTC said that the organization expects 12.4 million job cuts and losses in the tourism sector, which is primarily the lifeblood of the Caribbean region.
When the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic in March, countries around the world imposed a number of restrictions to curb the spread of the disease.
To date, there have been 27,973,127 confirmed cases of COVID-19 globally, including 905,426 deaths, reported to WHO.
The hit from the pandemic would leave the industry in Latin America and the Caribbean barely a third the size it was last year, according to the data from WTTC, the main global forum representing tourism.
Job losses will be of a similar scale. “There is no country that escapes,” WTTC president Gloria Guevara said in an interview with Reuters.
In Mexico, the country that receives the most visitors in Latin America, the tourism sector is expecting to rack up losses worth $129 billion. Almost five million people are expected to lose jobs—this is about 69% of the work force in Mexican tourism.
Worldwide, the pandemic threatens to trigger losses worth $5.5 trillion in tourism and 197.5 million job losses, the WTTC revealed.
Guevara also said that while countries try to open their borders to international travel again, the lack of standardised protocols to manage travel has been contributing to the challenge. This includes issues such as airport testing to give tourists greater confidence and help accelerate the recovery,
The WTTC expects the tourism industry to be able to bounce back in 18 months, as long as there is a global collaboration and appropriate measures are in place. If not, this struggle could last in three to four years more.
Royal Caribbean CEO joins task force for safe return of Caribbean tourism
Meanwhile, in a report by the Royal Caribbean blog, Royal Caribbean International President and CEO Michael Bayley revealed on Thursday that he is co-chairing a task force handling the safe return of cruising to the Caribbean.
At a meeting of the Miami-Dade County Tourism and the Ports Committee, Bayley spoke of the work everyone in Royal Caribbean is doing to get back to cruising, including this Caribbean island task force.
The Americas Cruise Tourism Task Force is co-chaired with the Prime Minister of Barbados, Mia Amor Mottley. It is made up of over 40 different Caribbean countries.
Weeks after the coronavirus outbreak was declared a pandemic, several cruise lines suspended their operations, including the Royal Caribbean.