- COVID-19 sparks a dramatic 58% collapse in the sector’s contribution to GDP
- 680,000 jobs lost with many more still hanging in the balance
- The return of international travel this year could see GDP contribution rise sharply and jobs return
The World Travel & Tourism Council’s annual Economic Impact Report (EIR) today reveals the dramatic impact COVID-19 had on the Caribbean’s Travel & Tourism sector, wiping out $33.9 billion from the region’s economy.
The annual EIR from the Igbimọ Irin-ajo & Irin-ajo Agbaye (WTTC), which represents the global Travel & Tourism private sector, shows the sector’s contribution to GDP dropped a staggering 58%, higher than the global average.
Travel & Tourism’s impact on the region’s GDP fell from USD$58.4 billion (14.1%) in 2019, to USD$24.5 billion (6.4%), just 12 months later, in 2020.
The year of damaging travel restrictions which brought much of international travel to a grinding halt, resulted in the loss of 680,000 Travel & Tourism jobs across the popular holiday region, equating to almost a quarter of all jobs in the sector.
These job losses were felt across the entire Travel & Tourism ecosystem, with SMEs, which make up eight out of 10 of all global businesses in the sector, particularly affected.
Siwaju si, bi ọkan ninu awọn ẹka ti o yatọ julọ julọ ni agbaye, ipa lori awọn obinrin, ọdọ ati awọn to nkan jẹ pataki.
The number of those employed in the Caribbean Travel & Tourism sector fell from nearly 2.76 million in 2019, to 2.08 million in 2020, a drop of almost a quarter (24.7%).
The report also revealed domestic visitor spending declined by 49.6%, with international spend faring even worse, falling by 68%, due to the region’s strong reliance on international travel, with many of the islands massively impacted.
Whilst the global average Travel & Tourism contribution to GDP fell by -49.1%, many of the islands in the region fared much worse.