Travel and tourism industry suffers $47 billion a month as virus spreads
Last updated on: 04 March,2020 03:39 pm
In 2018, tourism and travel industry's revenue amounted to $1.7 trillion.
Web Desk – Tourism and travel industry across the world has been suffering adverse consequences of the new coronavirus (COVID-19), whereas industry operators have been trying to protect its potentially catastrophic impact.
According to a report of Bloomberg, the tourism industry has been sustaining a massive economic damage of $47 billion per month as tourists have cancelled their bookings and travel plans. It has been further observed that the airlines would suffer a revenue loss of $30 billion.
“It’s the biggest setback for the travel industry since a downturn that accompanied the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001 and the SARS outbreak and the war in Iraq two years later.”
Altogether, the travel and tourism has been affected in 14 countries including Philippines, Thailand, Greece, Portugal, New Zealand, Turkey, Egypt, Italy, Austria, Malaysia, China, Hong Kong, Mexico and Spain.
Spain’s services sector expanded at its slowest pace in six years in February, with evidence of an adverse impact on confidence and activity from the coronavirus outbreak, notably in the tourism sector, a survey showed on Wednesday.
In Asian countries and others, hotels are empty. In China, about 85 percent of the hotels are empty, 74 percent in Hong Kong, 49 percent in Singapore and 31 percent in Thailand.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Federal Reserve cut interest rates on Tuesday in an emergency move to try to prevent a global recession and the World Bank announced $12 billion to help countries fight the coronavirus, which has taken a heavy toll on air travel, tourism and other industries, threatening global economic growth prospects.
Over 60% of Japanese companies said their earnings were being hurt by the coronavirus outbreak, a survey by a private think tank showed on Wednesday, adding to market fears the epidemic could tip the world’s third-largest economy into recession.
Japan’s economy suffered a contraction in the three months through December and may shrink again in the current quarter due to the health crisis, which has disrupted supply chains and hurt retailers reliant on inbound tourism, analysts said.
In 2018, tourism and travel industry’s revenue amounted to $1.7 trillion.