Bizarre stories of thousands of tourists marooned on cruise ships in various parts of the world, prevented from disembarking at various ports on account of concerns about the spread of the coronavirus could be just the tip of the iceberg insofar as the longer-term impact of the virus on the global tourism sector is concerned if World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC)-envisaged longer-term impact of the virus on the sector is even remotely realistic.
Earlier this month the WTTC warned that the COVID-19 outbreak could cause around 50 million jobs worldwide to vanish from the sector. Moreover, once the outbreak of the deadly virus disappears, the WTTC is projecting that it could take up to ten months before the sector musters a recovery of sorts.
Of the 50 million possible job losses in the tourism sector, around 30 million would be in Asia, seven million in Europe, five million in the Americas.
