The WTTC notes that the closure of hotels, the suspension of flights, the stoppage of cruises and the closure of borders are having a “catastrophic domino effect”.

The tourism industry loses one million jobs a day worldwide as a result of the coronavirus crisis, as warned by the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC).

The international organization, which represents the private sector globally, indicates that job losses affect all levels of the industry and increase their pace as countries adopt restrictive measures to prevent the spread of the virus.

In total, they consider that the crisis has put 50 million jobs at “immediate risk”, while 320 million jobs “face the impact of the loss of business”.

The WTTC points out that the closure of hotels, the suspension of flights, the paralysis of cruises and the closure of borders are having a “catastrophic domino effect” that impacts a large number of providers worldwide, where small and medium-sized Businesses, such as tour operators, travel agents, and sole traders, are “especially vulnerable.”

WTTC has asked countries to “urgently make greater efforts” to analyze how companies can access credit without interests and tax exemptions that may prevent an impending collapse.

The council is aware that “as the travel and tourism sector faces an economic crisis,” the coronavirus pandemic is “a global health disaster,” so governments are doing everything they can to contain the spread and reduce the number of deaths.

The president and CEO of the WTTC, Gloria Guevara, has indicated that they fear that the situation “will deteriorate unless governments take more measures to address it” and stressed that, although many governments have “promised aid”, most of the Companies “still have no idea how to access these loans.”

The WTTC has drawn up a plan for governments to combat the effect of coronavirus on the economy, which includes “protecting wages, incomes and jobs” at risk, “granting vital, unlimited and interest-free loans” and “eliminating fees and taxes for passengers and the travel industry with immediate effect ”and for one year.