Category: Latest Travel News

Washington D.C., United States, September 3, 2020 / TRAVELINDEX / A devastating $155 billion looks set to be lost from the U.S. economy due to the collapse of international travel during 2020, according to latest research conducted by the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC). $425 million a day being lost to the U.S. economy.

WTTC, which represents the global Travel & Tourism private sector, says the massive decline in the number of international travellers and tourists visiting the U.S due to the COVID-19 pandemic, could result in international visitor spending dropping by a staggering 79%.

This catastrophic loss to the American economy equates to a shortfall of $425 million a day, or nearly $3 billion a week, to the country’s economy.

WTTC and its Members recently called upon President Donald Trump and the other leaders of the G7 countries, urging for a coordinated approach to be taken in leading the recovery response to the crisis.

The harsh impact on U.S. Travel & Tourism is laid bare by WTTC as the economic fallout from coronavirus continues to burn its way through the sector. Nearly 12.1 million jobs in the U.S. supported by Travel & Tourism are at risk of being lost in a ‘worst case’ scenario mapped out by WTTC economic modelling.

According to WTTC’s 2020 Economic Impact Report, during 2019, Travel & Tourism was responsible for 16.8 million jobs in the US, or 10.7% of the country’s total workforce. It also generated $1.8 trillion, or 9% to the American economy.

Gloria Guevara, WTTC President & CEO, said: “The economic pain and suffering caused to millions of households across the U.S, who are dependent upon Travel & Tourism for their livelihoods, is evident from our latest shocking figures.

“The lack of international visitors to the US due to the pandemic could wipe out more than $155 billion from the US economy alone – a loss of $425 million a day – from which it may take years to recover. It could also threaten New York’s position as one of the world’s premier hubs for business and leisure travel.

“International coordination to re-establish transatlantic travel would provide a boost for the Travel & Tourism sector. It would benefit airlines and hotels, travel agents and tour operators and revitalise the millions of jobs in the supply chain which are dependent upon international travel across the Atlantic.

“We urgently need to replace blanket quarantine measures with rapid, comprehensive and cost-effective test and trace programmes at departure points across the country. This investment will be significantly less than the impact of blunt quarantines which have devastating and far-reaching socio-economic consequences.

“The recent $750 million deal with Abbott labs for $5 rapid test is very promising in this respect, and we hope that it allows the U.S to continue to reopen and can prove as a blueprint for a way forward for other countries. Targeted test and tracing will help rebuild consumer confidence to travel.

“A fast turnaround test and trace system in place for all departing passengers means that governments could consider reinstating travel between America and major international hubs, a move which would help kick-start the economic global recovery.”

WTTC analysis of international travel spending in the U.S during 2019 reveals it reached $195.1 billion, accounting for 16% of the total tourism spend in the country. Domestic travel spending last year was responsible for the other 84%.

A further breakdown reveals how crucial spending from international travellers during 2019 was to the economy. Every month it accounted for nearly $16.3 billion, or $3.7 billion a week – and an incredible, $534.5 million a day.

Between 2016 and 2018, the largest inbound source markets to the US were travellers from Canada and Mexico, accounting for 26% and 24% of all international arrivals respectively, with the UK coming in third with 6%, and Japan in fourth place with 5%.

Data for 2018, which is the most up-to-date available, shows how New York City is particularly dependent on international visitor spending compared to the U.S. as a whole. It accounted for 45% of all tourism spending in the city, with domestic tourists making up the remaining 55%.

The UK was the most important source market for the city with almost one in 10 of all international arrivals (9%), with China in second place with 8%, and Canada and Brazil in joint third place with 7% of arrivals.

The loss of this international visitor spending could have a profound long-term impact on New York for many years to come.

According to WTTC’s 2020 Economic Impact Report, during 2019, Travel & Tourism was responsible for one in 10 jobs (330 million total), making a 10.3% contribution to global GDP and generating one in four of all new jobs.

Bangkok, Thailand, September 3, 2020 / TRAVELINDEX / A 32-kilometre motorway opening in Thailand’s rapidly developing Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) will significantly enhance access to a broad range of new destinations, sites, and attractions in the coastal provinces of Chon Buri, Chachoengsao, and Rayong.

The motorway will also facilitate connections between Bangkok’s main aviation hub of Suvarnabhumi Airport and the airport/seaport of U-tapao in Rayong province, and enable visitors to make cross-border trips to neighbouring Cambodia.

The Royal Thai Government has identified tourism as one of the four core areas that will help transform the EEC into the leading economic zone in Southeast Asia.

The route starts at the Map Prachan Intersection between Chonburi – Pattaya, passing the Bang Lamung District and Sattahip District, Chonburi province, ending at the intersection with Highway 3, Ban Chang District, Rayong province.

Located on the northern rim of the Gulf of Thailand, the provinces of Chon Buri, Rayong and Chachoengsao are rich in tourism, which TAT plans to extend, improve and promote, according to their different characteristics, such as:

“Chachoengsao: Thai Way of Life” due to its strengths in lifestyle, culture and agriculture.

“Chon Buri: Modern of the East” because it is modern combined with localness. Pattaya is 1 of 5 MICE cities in Thailand.

“Rayong: BIZ City” This is an industrial estate area and has a lot of business activities.

Mr. Yuthasak Supasorn, Governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) said, “The EEC is a diverse region and offers a huge range of attractions to tourists and visitors. We want people coming here to work or travel to have the chance to explore the culture of the area.

Paris, France, September 2, 2020 / TRAVELINDEX / The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) have published a set of recommendations for safely re-opening customer facing businesses in the age of COVID-19.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused widespread disruptions to global supply chains and businesses of all sizes. The Travel & Tourism sector has been particularly impacted by the current pandemic due to travel restrictions, declining traveller confidence and reduced consumer demand.

In recognition of the challenges faced by the travel and tourism industry, ICC and WTTC have released a Quick Restart Guide for Employers to provide businesses with recommendations for ensuring operational readiness, preparing staff and limiting risk of exposure to the virus within workplaces.

The guidance was released as part of a virtual meeting between ICC Secretary General John W.H. Denton AO and WTTC President & CEO Gloria Guevara. During the meeting, both leaders acknowledged that the Travel & Tourism sector will need to implement new measures, such as the WTTC Safe Travels protocols, fortify knowledge sharing and institute careful plans, to ensure that businesses can operate safely in the age of COVID-19.

Mr Denton said: “With over 150 million travel and tourism jobs lost since the outbreak of COVID-19, more needs to be done to address the challenges faced by these businesses – many of which are SMEs with limited resources. It’s critical for ICC and our global network to engage with travel and tourism businesses as we work together to reinstate consumer confidence, protect employees and safely re-open our economies.”

Gloria Guevara, WTTC President & CEO, said: “Travel & Tourism is a highly interconnected sector, the devastating impact that the COVID-19 pandemic is having on businesses across the global Travel & Tourism sector,  is also causing extraordinary damage outside of our sector, impacting millions of jobs and livelihoods around the world. Our guide provides recommendations for businesses around the world, be they large enterprises or SME’s, to ensure employees are able to return to their place of work safely and are in line with WTTC’s Safe Travels protocols.”

The ICC-WTTC guidance is divided into clear categories to help travel and tourism businesses restart their operations safely. From rebuilding trust and confidence with customers to preparing staff returning to workplaces, the guidance provides travel and tourism businesses with a checklist of considerations for reopening.

During their meeting, the two discussed collaboration on digital platforms aimed at reopening economies and borders for international travel. Mr Denton provided an update on ICC AOKpass – a risk mitigation tool that facilitates cross-border travellers to present digitally authenticated and secure medical records to border authorities – and offered ICC’s support in promoting the WTTC Safe Travels Protocols and Stamp, the world’s first ever global safety and hygiene stamp.

Earlier this year, ICC and WTTC co-organised a webinar on the consequences of COVID-19 for small- and medium-sized enterprises operating within the travel and tourism sector. Hosted by ICC’s Centre for Entrepreneurship in Istanbul, the webinar gathered leaders from across the travel and tourism industry to discuss the ramifications of the pandemic and the measures designed to contain its spread.

Download the ICC-WTTC Quick Restart Guide for Employers now.

Geneva, Switzerland, September 1, 2020 / AIRLINEHUB / The International Air Transport Association (IATA) is calling on governments to work together to urgently find ways to re-establish global connectivity by re-opening borders and to continue with relief measures to sustain airlines during the COVID-19 crisis.

IATA’s call reflects deep industry frustration as government policies such as closed borders, travel restrictions and quarantines continue to annihilate travel demand. This was evident in a disappointing “peak (Northern Hemisphere) summer travel season” that saw minimal improvements compared to the May-June period, as four in five potential travelers stayed home, based on comparisons with the year-ago period.

• Total July 2020 traffic was 79.8% below 2019 levels
• International traffic in July 2020 was 91.9% below 2019 levels

“Protecting their citizens must be the top priority of governments. But too many governments are fighting a global pandemic in isolation with a view that closing borders is the only solution. It’s time for governments to work together to implement measures that will enable economic and social life to resume, while controlling the spread of the virus,” said Alexandre de Juniac, IATA’s Director General and CEO.

Specifically, IATA calls for governments to grasp the seriousness of the crisis facing the airline industry and its consequences for their citizens; and IATA urges governments to focus their attention on these key issues:

• Re-opening borders
• Continuing relief measures
• Global leadership

Re-Opening Borders
The world remains largely closed to travel despite the availability of global protocols to enable the safe re-start of aviation (Take-off guidance) developed by governments through the leadership of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) with the support of the World Health Organization (WHO). This guidance covers all aspects of the passenger journey and recommends sanitary measures to keep travelers safe and reduce the risk of importing infection.

“Airlines have been largely grounded for a half-year. And the situation is not improving. In fact, in many cases it is going in the wrong direction. We see governments replacing border closures with quarantine for air travelers. Neither will restore travel or jobs. Worse, governments are changing the entry requirements with little notice to travelers or coordination with their trading partners. This uncertainty destroys demand. Ten percent of the global economy is sustained by travel and tourism; governments need to do better to re-start it,” said de Juniac.

The prerequisite to open borders is the ICAO Take-off guidance. Additionally, IATA is proposing travel bubbles to mitigate risks between specific markets and foresees a much wider and strategic use of COVID-19 testing as technology improves accuracy, speed and scalability.

“No government wants to import COVID-19. Equally, no government should want to see the economic hardships and associated health impacts of mass unemployment. Successfully getting through this crisis requires careful risk-management with effective measures. If government policies focus on enabling a safe re-start, aviation is well-prepared to deliver. Risk-management is a well-developed discipline that airlines rely on to keep travel safe and secure,” said de Juniac.

IATA proposes a three-point action plan for governments to safely re-open borders as follows:

1. Implement the ICAO Take-off guidance universally.
2. Build on the solid work of ICAO Council’s Aviation Recovery Task Force (CART) by developing an agreed common framework for states to use in coordinating the safe re-opening of their borders to aviation.
3. Develop COVID-19 testing measures that will enable the re-opening of borders by reducing the risk of COVID-19 importation to what is acceptable to public health authorities with accuracy, speed and scalability that also meet the exacting requirements for incorporation into the travel process.

“As a participant in the ICAO CART, IATA will work with governments, medical experts and testing manufacturers to accelerate proposals specifically focused on using COVID-19 testing to re-build confidence, re-open borders, re-start aviation, re-charge demand and restore jobs. There is much at stake and no time to lose,” said de Juniac.

Relief Measures
With the exception of some domestic markets there is little evidence of an early industry recovery. Airlines continue to lose billions of dollars and are facing difficult decisions to resize their operations and workforce for the future.

“Many airlines will not have the financial means to survive an indefinite shutdown that, for many, already exceeds a half-year. In these extraordinary times, governments will need to continue with financial and other relief measures to the greatest extent possible. It’s a solid investment in the recovery because each airline job saved supports 24 in the broader economy. And a functioning airline industry will be a critical enabler for economies to regain their full power,” said de Juniac.

IATA urges governments to focus relief measures in two areas:

• Financial Relief: Facing an industry loss of $84.3 billion this year, a 50% cut in revenues and high fixed costs for aircraft and labor, the financial viability of many airlines is in question. Government relief has been a critical lifeline. But what relief has been given is quickly running out. Government measures to provide additional financial buffers against failure will be critical, and these must not increase already ballooning debt levels.
• Regulatory Relief: The most urgent regulatory relief is a global waiver on the use-it-or-lose-it 80-20 slot rule. The severe uncertainty in the market means that airlines need the flexibility to adjust schedules to meet demand without the pressure of being penalized for not using allocated slots. Airlines cannot afford to fly empty planes when market demand drops. Similarly, they cannot pass up revenue when opportunities open up.

  Many governments, including China, Brazil, Mexico, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand have granted waivers for the winter 2020 season (October 2020-March 2021) recognizing the severe constraints on planning schedules during this period of extreme disruption. Unfortunately, the European Commission (EC), which many governments look to for leadership on air transport policies, is under-estimating the severity of the crisis and dragging its feet:
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  • The EC has stated that traffic will be restored to between 75% and 85% of February 2020 levels (pre-COVID-19 in most markets) for the winter season. This is far more optimistic than industry scenarios.
  • Moreover, the EC believes that granting a waiver in mid-October will give a sufficient window for airlines and airports to plan for what is already the most challenging time in aviation history. Given the extraordinary circumstances, over the last several weeks both airports and airlines have been calling for the governments to provide clarity as early as possible. Together with independent slot coordinators they have jointly agreed conditions to allow the EC to progress swiftly.

“The European Commission’s delay in granting a full-season waiver of the 80-20 slot rule for the Northern Hemisphere winter season is bad for everyone. Airlines and airports will scramble while consumer uncertainty will only increase. As the Commission returns from its summer activities, granting a full-season waiver should be at the top of the aviation priority list,” said de Juniac.

Global Leadership
“Governments have cooperated to set the guidelines for a safe re-start of aviation. But they have not cooperated to actually make a re-start happen. That’s why 90% of international flying has stopped. The demand is there. When borders open without quarantine, people fly. But there is too much uncertainty in how governments are managing the situation for passengers to re-build the confidence to travel.

In fact, what is killing aviation is the fact that governments are not managing the risks of opening borders. Instead, they are keeping global mobility effectively in lockdown. And if this continues, the damage to global connectivity could become irreparable which will generate its own severe consequences for economies and public health.

The global protocols for safely re-starting aviation are agreed and no industry is as experienced in successfully implementing global safety programs as aviation. But we need governments to take on the leadership to manage risks and adopt a mindset of not being defeated by this virus. Then, with testing, technology, science and determination we can re-open borders and get the world moving again,” said de Juniac.

Berlin, Germany, August 31, 2020 / TRAVELINDEX /  €104.1 million a day being lost to the German economy. A devastating €38 billion looks set to be lost from the German economy due to the collapse of international travel during 2020, according to latest research conducted by the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC).

WTTC, which represents the global Travel & Tourism private sector, says the massive decline in the number of international travellers and tourists visiting Germany due to the COVID-19 pandemic, could result in international visitor spending dropping by a staggering 82%.

This catastrophic loss to the German economy equates to a shortfall of €104.1 million a day, or €729 million a week, to the country’s economy.

This comes in the same week that Germany is expected to announce 14-day quarantine measures for travellers from high-risk countries, replacing its existing testing programme, to signal the end of the summer travel season. As demonstrated by the patchwork of blanket travel-bans in the UK, this will bring further economic misery not only Germany, but the whole of the continent.

WTTC and its Members recently called upon Angela Merkel and the other leaders of the G7 countries, urging for a coordinated approach be taken in leading the recovery response to the crisis.

The harsh impact on the German Travel & Tourism is laid bare by WTTC as the economic fallout from coronavirus continues to burn its way through the sector. Nearly 4.6 million jobs in Germany supported by Travel & Tourism are at risk of being lost in a ‘worst case’ scenario mapped out by WTTC economic modelling.

According to WTTC’s 2020 Economic Impact Report, during 2019, Travel & Tourism was responsible for 5.7 million jobs in Germany, or 12.5% of the country’s total workforce. It also generated €310.9 billion GDP, or 9% to the German economy.

Gloria Guevara, WTTC President & CEO, said: “The economic pain and suffering caused to millions of households across Germany, who are dependent upon Travel & Tourism for their livelihoods, is evident from our latest figures.

“The lack of international travel caused by the pandemic could wipe out more than €38 billion from the German economy alone – a loss of €104.1 million a day – from which it could take many years to recover. It could also threaten Berlin’s position as one of the world’s premier hubs for business and leisure travel and could result in other destinations taking over.

“International coordination to re-establish transatlantic travel, would provide a vital shot in the arm for the Travel & Tourism sector. It would benefit airlines and hotels, travel agents and tour operators and revitalise the millions of jobs in the supply chain which are dependent upon international travel across the Atlantic.

“We urgently need to replace stop-start quarantine measures with rapid, comprehensive and cost-effective test and trace programmes at departure points across the country. This investment will be significantly less than the impact of blunt quarantines which have devastating and far-reaching socio-economic consequences. 

“Targeted test and tracing will also rebuild consumer confidence to travel. It will enable the restoration of vital ‘air corridors’ between countries and regions with similar COVID-19 case rates.

“A fast turnaround test and trace system in place for all departing passengers means the government could consider reinstating travel between Germany and major international hubs, a move which would help kick-start the economic global recovery.”

WTTC analysis of international travel spending in Germany during 2019 reveals it reached €47 billion, accounting for 14% of the total tourism spend in the country. Domestic travel spending last year was responsible for the other 86%.

A further breakdown reveals how crucial spending from international travellers during 2019 was to the German economy. Every month it accounted for €3.9 billion or €901 million a week – and €128.8 million a day.

Between 2016 and 2018, the largest inbound source markets to Germany were travellers from the Netherlands and Switzerland, accounting for 12% and 9% of all international arrivals respectively, with the US and UK both coming in third with 7%, and Austria in fourth place with 5%.

Data for 2018, which is the most up-to-date available, shows how Berlin is particularly dependent on international visitor spending compared to Germany as a whole. It accounted for 44% of all tourism spending in the city, with domestic tourists making up the remaining 56%.

The UK was the most important source market for the city with 11% of arriving visitors, with the US in second place with 8% of arrivals, Spain in third place with 6% of arrivals, and Italy in fourth position with 6%.

The loss of this international visitor spending could have a profound long-term impact on Germany’s capital for years to come.

According to WTTC’s 2020 Economic Impact Report, during 2019, Travel & Tourism was responsible for one in 10 jobs (330 million total), making a 10.3% contribution to global GDP and generating one in four of all new jobs.