Category: Latest Travel News

Madrid (Spain) – March 27, 2020 /travelindex.com/ – The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) has released its updated assessment of the likely impact of the COVID-19 on international tourism. Taking into account the unparalleled introduction of travel restrictions across the world, the United Nations specialized agency for tourism expects that international tourist arrivals will be down by 20% to 30% in 2020 when compared with 2019 figures. However, UNWTO stresses that these numbers are based on the latest developments as the global community faces up to an unprecedented social and economic challenge and should be interpreted with caution in view of the extreme uncertain nature of the current crisis.

An expected fall of between 20-30% could translate into a decline in international tourism receipts (exports) of between US$300-450 billion, almost one third of the US$ 1.5 trillion generated in 2019. Taking into account past market trends, this would mean that between five and seven years’ worth of growth will be lost to COVID-19. Putting this into context, UNWTO notes that in 2009, on the back of the global economic crisis, international tourist arrivals declined by 4%, while the SARS outbreak led to a decline of just 0.4% in 2003.

UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili said: “Tourism is among the hardest hit of all economic sectors. However, tourism is also united in helping to address this immense health emergency – our first and utmost priority – while working together to mitigate the impact of the crisis, particularly on employment, and to support the wider recovery efforts through providing jobs and driving economic welfare worldwide.”

Mitigating damage and planning for recovery

Tourism is among the hardest hit of all economic sectors. However, tourism is also united in helping to address this immense health emergency

Mr. Pololikashvili added that, while it is too early to make a full assessment of the likely impact of COVID-19 on tourism, it is clear that millions of jobs within the sector are at risk of being lost. Around 80% of all tourism businesses are small-and-medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and the sector has been leading the way in providing employment and other opportunities for women, youth and rural communities.

Alongside this new assessment, UNWTO underlines tourism’s historic resilience and capacity to create jobs after crisis situations, while also emphasizing the importance of international cooperation and of ensuring the sector is made a central part of recovery efforts.

Since the start of the current crisis, UNWTO has been working closely with the wider United Nations system, including directly alongside the World Health Organization (WHO) to guide the sector, issuing key recommendations for both high-level leaders and individual tourists. To better consolidate and strengthen the response, the Organization has established the Global Tourism Crisis Committee.

To get the latest UNWTO News, in particular to read updates on the Covid-19 pandemic, click here…

Doha (Qatar) – March 26, 2020 /travelindex.com/ Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, Chairperson of Qatar Foundation, attended the official opening of the Education City Golf Club as it hosted its first international tournament, the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters 2020 on the European Tour.

Her Excellency Sheikha Hind bint Hamad Al Thani, Vice-Chairperson and CEO of Qatar Foundation, also attended the opening ceremony, as golf stars from around the world played their opening rounds in the latest edition of the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters, which has moved from its previous home at Doha Golf Club for the first time in its 23-year history.

“We look forward to welcoming people from across Qatar and beyond to experience the Education City Golf Club, which adds to the array of publicly-available, community-focused facilities at Qatar Foundation while also supporting Qatar’s national tourism goals and enhancing the nation’s global profile as a sporting destination,” said Machaille Hassan Al-Naimi, President of Community Development, Qatar Foundation.

Also participating in the tour at the official opening of the Education City Golf Club were Hassan Al Naimi, President of Qatar Golf Association; Joseph Abraham, Group CEO of Commercial Bank of Qatar; Omar Hussain Alfardan, Managing Director, Commercial Bank of Qatar; Keith Pelley, CEO of the PGA European Tour; and leading professional golfer and Solheim Cup Captain Catriona Matthew.

“The Education City Golf Club is an inclusive facility on many levels, especially the academic level, as it offers many opportunities for those aspiring to practice golf, whether they are beginners, advanced, or professional players,” said Mr. Al Naimi.

“We decided to move the 23rd edition of the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters tournament to the Education City Golf Club for the first time to enhance community involvement, and to further highlight how Qatar is a global destination for golf lovers.”

Speaking at the official opening, Keith Pelley European Tour CEO said: “It is my first time in Qatar, and my first opportunity to visit the Education City Golf Club. The course is excellent, the facilities are brilliant, and the immediate reaction from the players has been incredibly positive.

“This is a big step in the right direction for the game in Qatar. Golf is the most inclusive sport in the world, as you can play with anybody of any age, ability, and gender. Golf is very healthy and can teach you life skills. We think it is the best-kept secret here in Qatar and hopefully, it will grow over the coming years.”

Solheim Cup Captain Catriona Matthews also visited for the opening state “This is my first time here at this amazing golf course at Education City. It has all the high-tech equipment necessary to play golf, and it is great to see young girls and boys practicing the game here. It is also great to have this facility next to universities, schools, and research centers.”

Montreal (Canada) – March 26, 2020 /travelindex.com/ Traveling by plane doesn’t necessarily increase the risk of contracting a communicable disease more than another kind of mass transit, according to the World Health Organization, as ventilation systems on aircraft use filters to trap bacteria and viruses before air is recirculated.

“Ventilation rates provide a total change of air 20 to 30 times per hour. Most modern aircraft have re-circulation systems, which recycle up to 50% of cabin air. The recirculated air is usually passed through HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air) filters, of the type used in hospital operating theatres and intensive care units, which trap dust particles, bacteria, fungi and viruses.”

Airplane air is usually recirculated through the kind of filters used in ICUs.

“Transmission of infection may occur between passengers who are seated in the same area of an aircraft, usually as a result of the infected individual coughing or sneezing or by touch,” WHO noted on its website. “This is no different from any other situation in which people are close to each other, such as on a train or bus or in a theater.”

Others say such filters are imperfect. “HEPA filters are commonly thought to be impenetrable, but in fact they are only 99.97% efficient at collecting the most-penetrating particle,” one 2009 study concluded. “While this is an impressive collection efficiency, HEPA filters may not provide adequate protection for all threats: viruses are sub-micron in size and have small minimum infections doses.”

Travelers should still disinfect where they are seated, wash their hands often, avoid touching their face and try to stay away from people who are coughing or sneezing, regardless of where or how they travel. Travel company AAA also recommends that people traveling abroad bring all necessary documentation including health-insurance cards, hand sanitizer and additional doses of medication.

First published at www.traveltourism.news

Madrid (Spain) – March 26, 2020 (travelindex.com) – In the face of an unprecedented challenge, the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), with the support of the World Health Organization (WHO), calls on innovators and entrepreneurs to put forward new solutions to help the tourism sector recover from COVID-19.

With millions of jobs at risk as the pandemic hits tourism harder than any other sector, the United Nations specialized tourism agency has included innovation in its wider response to the pandemic. That response has seen UNWTO work closely alongside WHO to mitigate the impact and place tourism at the centre of future recovery efforts and liaise closely with governments and the private sector to boost collaboration and international solidarity.

Tourism is the sector that has been hit the hardest by COVID-19. Our response needs to be strong and united.

The “Healing Solutions” challenge is launched in collaboration with WHO, further advancing the united response of the wider United Nations system to COVID-19. This global call for entrepreneurs and innovators asks them to submit ideas that can help the tourism sector mitigate the impact of the pandemic and kickstart recovery efforts. In particular, the challenge is aimed at finding ideas that can make a difference right away: for destinations, for businesses and for public health efforts.

Ideas that are ready to implement

Participants should be able to demonstrate how their ideas can help tourism in its response to COVID-19. Ideas must also have been piloted and be ready to scale-up, with a business plan in place and the potential to be implemented in several countries.

UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili explains: “Tourism is the sector that has been hit the hardest by COVID-19. Our response needs to be strong and united. We also need to embrace innovation. I call on all entrepreneurs and innovators with ideas that are developed and ready to be put into action to share them with us. In particular, we want to hear ideas that will help communities recover from this crisis, economically and socially, as well as ideas that can contribute to the public health response.”

The competition is now live and applications close on 10 April 2020. The winners of the Healing Solutions for Tourism Challenge will be invited to pitch their ideas to representatives of more than 150 governments They will also enjoy access to the UNWTO Innovation Network, which includes hundreds of start-ups and leading businesses from across the tourism sector.

More information on the competition and on how to apply can be found at the
Healing Solutions for Tourism Challenge webpage…

To get the latest UNWTO News, in particular to read updates on the Covid-19 pandemic, click here…

London (United Kingdom) – March 26, 2020 (travelindex.com) – World tourism leaders have been urged to execute crucial measures to save the travel and tourism sector, ahead of a special meeting of the G20 hosted by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia today. The call was made by the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), which represents the global Travel & Tourism private sector, to prevent a catastrophic collapse following the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, putting up to 75 million jobs at immediate risk.

WTTC implored the G20 leaders to assign resources and coordinate efforts to rescue major travel businesses such as airlines, cruises, hotels, GDS and technology companies, as well as the SME’s, such as travel agents, tour operators, restaurants, independent workers and the entire supply chain, in order to save the jobs of the 330 million people who rely on Travel & Tourism for their livelihoods.

WTTC welcomes the special virtual meeting, hosted by His Royal Highness King Salman of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which takes place as WTTC releases its latest annual Economic Impact Report.

According to WTTC’s 2019 research, Saudi Arabia’s new tourism strategy has made it the fastest growing and best performer. A growth of 14% in Travel & Tourism, contributed 9.5%, including direct, indirect and induced impacts, to the Kingdom’s total economy, supporting 1.45m jobs (11.2% of the country’s total).

Gloria Guevara, WTTC President & CEO, said: “We thank the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for its outstanding leadership and commitment by prioritising the development of Travel & Tourism with extraordinary results in a short time frame. We hope that with its leadership and recognition of the Travel & Tourism sector, which contributes to one in 10 jobs in the planet, the Kingdom under its Presidency, will work with the largest economies of the world to implement critical measures for its survival.”

“The coronavirus pandemic has put the sector in unprecedented danger of collapse, which is looking increasingly likely unless a global rescue package is agreed to bolster what has become the backbone of the global economy.

“WTTC’s Economic Impact Report for 2020 reveals that this vital sector was responsible for generating one in four of all new jobs globally in 2019 and will have a crucial part to play in powering the global recovery.

“It is therefore of paramount importance that the G20 take urgent action now to preserve the 75 million jobs at immediate risk, which would represent a crushing Travel & Tourism GDP loss to the world economy of up to US$2.1 trillion in 2020 alone.

“A determined and decisive action by the G20 could reverse this, save millions from misery, and bolster one of the main engines of future economic growth.

On behalf of millions of families and businesses, large and small around the world, we implore the G20 to take this vital step. We also recognise the efforts from all G20 countries in supporting a sector that alleviates poverty, provides opportunity, especially for women and the youth, and is an engine for growth.” The importance of the Travel & Tourism sector for aiding the world economic recovery is revealed in WTTC’s latest Economic Impact Report, which shows that throughout 2019 the sector supported one in 10 jobs (330 million), making a 10.3% contribution to global GDP and generating a quarter, one in four, of all new jobs.

The Travel & Tourism sector also outperformed the 2.5% rate of global GDP growth, thanks to an annual GDP growth rate of 3.5%.

A breakdown by WTTC shows Asia Pacific to be the top performing region worldwide with a growth rate of 5.5%, followed by the Middle East at 5.3%. The US demonstrated a growth rate of 3.4% and the EU 2.4%.

However, the country showing the best performance was Saudi Arabia, growing four times than the global average.

Geneva (Switzerland) – March 26, 2020 (travelindex.com) – The International Air Transport Association (IATA) welcomed the support of those governments around the world that have provided financial relief to airlines and urged other governments to follow suit before more damage is done.

“Airlines are fighting for survival in every corner of the world. Travel restrictions and evaporating demand mean that, aside from cargo, there is almost no passenger business. For airlines, it’s apocalypse now. And there is a small and shrinking window for governments to provide a lifeline of financial support to prevent a liquidity crisis from shuttering the industry,” said Alexandre de Juniac, IATA’s Director General and CEO.

According to IATA’s latest analysis, released today, annual passenger revenues will fall by $252 billion if severe travel restrictions remain in place for three months. That represents a 44% decline compared to 2019. This is well-over double IATA’s previous analysis of a $113 billion revenue hit that was made before countries around the world introduced sweeping travel restrictions.

“It did not seem possible, but in a matter of days, the crisis facing airlines worsened dramatically. We are 100% behind governments in supporting measures to slow the spread of COVID-19. But we need them to understand that without urgent relief, many airlines will not be around to lead the recovery stage. Failure to act now will make this crisis longer and more painful. Some 2.7 million airline jobs are at risk. And each of those jobs supports a further 24 in the travel and tourism value chain. Some governments are already responding to our urgent calls, but not enough to make up the $200 billion needed,” said de Juniac.

In urging more government action, de Juniac cited examples of state support:

– Australia has announced an A$715 million (US$430 million) aid package comprising refunds and forward waivers on fuel taxes, and domestic air navigation and regional aviation security charges.
– Brazil is allowing airlines to postpone payments of air navigation and airport fees.
– China has introduced a number of measures, including reductions in landing, parking and air navigation charges as well as subsidies for airlines that continued to mount flights to the country.
– Hong Kong Airport Authority (HKAA), with government support, is providing a total relief package valued at HK$1.6 billion (US$206 million) for the airport community including waivers on airport and air navigation fees and charges, and certain licensing fees, rent reductions for aviation services providers and other measures.
– New Zealand’s government will open a NZ$900 million (US$580 million) loan facility to the national carrier as well as an additional NZ$600 million relief package for the aviation sector.
– Norway’s government is providing a conditional state loan-guarantee for its aviation industry totaling NKr6 billion (US$533 million).
– Qatar’s Minister of Finance has issued a statement of support for the national carrier.
– Singapore has undertaken relief measures valued at S$112 million (US$82 million) including rebates on airport charges, assistance to ground handling agents, and rental rebates at Changi Airport.
– Sweden and Denmark announced $300m in state loan guarantees for the national carrier.

In addition to this support, the European Central Bank, and the United States Congress are expected to enact significant measures to aid the airline industry in their respective jurisdictions as part of large packages of broader economic measures.

“This shows that states around the globe, recognize the critical role that aviation plays in the modern world. But many others have still to act to preserve the important role of this sector. Airlines are an economic and employment engine. This is demonstrated even as passenger operations shrink, as airlines continue to deliver cargo that is keeping the economy going and getting relief supplies where they are needed most. The ability for airlines to be a catalyst for economic activity will be vital in repairing the economic and social damage that COVID-19 is now causing,” said de Juniac.

IATA is calling for:

– Direct financial support to passenger and cargo carriers to compensate for reduced revenues and liquidity attributable to travel restrictions imposed as a result of COVID-19;
– Loans, loan guarantees and support for the corporate bond market by the Government or Central Banks. The corporate bond market is a vital source of finance, but the eligibility of corporate bonds for central bank support needs to be extended and guaranteed by governments to provide access for a wider range of companies.
– Tax relief: Rebates on payroll taxes paid to date in 2020 and/or an extension of payment terms for the rest of 2020, along with a temporary waiver of ticket taxes and other government-imposed levies.

Victoria, Mahé (Seychelles) – March 25, 2020 (travelindex.com) – One Seychelles reacts to statements made by President Danny Faure in his televised address to the Nation. One Seychelles, a political party representing Seychellois in the 26 electoral districts in Seychelles, is under the leadership of former Minister of Tourism Alain St.Ange.

It is important to state that our call to the Government of Seychelles for an open dialogue between the Head of State, Leaders of Political Parties and the relevant authorities and stakeholders, to discuss and agree upon immediate affirmative action moving forward as our vulnerable Nation grapples with COVID-19.

One Seychelles is again advocating for a needed strategy of containment to ensure the health and livelihood of the Seychellois is protected.

Our call has thus far gone unanswered and unacknowledged by the other politicians, with our Head of State continuing to operate in isolation and in the shadows. The fear and anxiety being felt by the public is escalating steadily, with many businesses, as well as private and Governmental bodies, taking matters into their own hands and closing their doors for two weeks.

Different countries reliant upon tourism have taken drastic measures to preserve and safeguard their citizens by closing their borders, including Mauritius and Madagascar our sister islands. Meanwhile, Seychelles continued for much longer to receive visitors daily from Europe, which had become the epicenter of the coronavirus. Seychelles must now move to curtail tourism arrivals from all coronavirus-infected areas while simultaneously working to keep businesses afloat and continue providing employment for the people of Seychelles.

While the Country is feeling the mounting pressures associated with the virus that has now reached our shores and infiltrating society, the only constructive way forward is to strive for unity. Unity is our strength, division is our weakness. Our Government has a duty to prioritize the health and security of its People. It must also protect the public from the economic impact of this global health crisis; family-operated businesses in our tourism-reliant country will need support to weather the crisis.

“One Seychelles” acknowledges and joins the President in recognizing that we are now living in unprecedented times and unchartered waters that have never before been tried and tested in Seychelles.

Desperate times do indeed call for exceptional responses. The President has attempted to do just that, however, like every new and novel approaches, the devil usually lie in the practical and implementation details. Thus there would as a consequence be multiple queries to the rationale that substantiate the chosen approach.

The President of ‘One Seychelles’ Alain St.Ange did propose that the major representatives of the people of Seychelles do meet to be part of a consensual approach for SEYCHELLES. In the end of his speech the President of the Republic rightly requests all Seychellois to get on board and recognize that each and everyone has a role to play in this fight against the spread of Coronavirus in Seychelles.

However, the President declined to bring the various potical leaders and stakeholders to seek their input and secure their respective consensus that would today have all to support all his measures unreservedly. A lot of responses to doubts would have been given and we could all together focus on implementation. This was a missed opportunity. We do acknowledge that this is a national emergency and timely intervention is critical. However we still live in a young democracy where consultation and consensus are key. In fact, as a small country with relatively small population this task does not warrant much effort or time. Government’s presence in the National Assembly to respond to queries and concerns of the representatives of the people. This has gone a long way to ensure that wide support for the measures are assured. Nevertheless the President decision to go it all alone instead of being politically inclusive remains very unfortunate.

The mis-opportunity is ‘water under the bridge’ now. We are now going to move forward with what has been pronounced. One Seychelles have the following exhausting queries for clarification:

1. The guarantee of salary by Government for Seychellois and their foreign counterparts for three months in this trying period is welcomed. This will help local businesses.

2. What is the faith of the large number of Seychellois self-employed who earns their living in the informal sector inclusive of the performing industry are many in our society. They are not employed and do not earn a monthly salary yet their informal economic activities will also be affected and some have a personal loan too. With the decline in economic activities they will be affected too. Do they go to Agency for Social Protection? If that is the case, will the SCR 30 million allocated to ASP be sufficient?

3. Seychellois cannot travel – good idea – but will Seychelles still be receiving foreigners from abroad to come to our shores? If yes from which country?

4. We are by now aware that CoronaVirus is extremely contagious. The army reserves have been called in to increase our manpower and ensure security and stability. However, in this combat we need to ensure that all our manpower are very well equipped and protected. Yet in the speech we seem to be depending on ‘friendly countries’ and WHO for equipment and protective items. In our view, this is not sufficient. Our doctors, nurses, police officers, volunteers and every worker on the frontline MUST have easy access to equipment (ventilators, relevant medicine), protective gear and the necessary rapid training and instructions on how to operate in this new environment. We would have wished that more clarity was given to reassure all that the aforementioned is indeed a priority.

5. The speech and the measures are focussed on 6 months and assumes that by September 2020 normality would settle in and life will normalize as we know it yesterday. Assuming that this is really the case, it is our view that we may have underestimated the efforts that will be required for business to bounce back and begin to perform. But we at least have some time to cross this bridge when we get to it.

6. We call on the National Assembly to urgently move on the proposed stimulus package to develop measures, in consultation with the Seychelles Tourism Board, that will ensure businesses are kept alive and Seychellois employees do not lose their jobs. This as the tourism industry is being encouraged to offer a re-booking option, if they are unwilling to offer a refund, to clients who booked their accommodation or excursion packages prior to the pandemic.

7. The Central Bank needs on its part to urgently call for a drop in Interest Rates. This will help businesses remain afloat as loans are rescheduled and payments calculated on the new rates deferred for September 2020.

8. Seychellois have been encouraged to work from home and the local telecommunication companies are encouraged to do their part and drop the applicable rates.

9. Utilities charges (Electricity & Water) provided by PUC also needs to be reduced as more Seychellois are staying at home and would be burdened with extra costs is a period of national difficulty.

10. Daycare Centers must remain open as working parents have no other facilities to care for their babies. This is a necessity.

11. Finally, we feel that the President could have reserved some more space to emphasize the importance of ‘social distancing’ and all the novel behaviors that we have to adopt to ensure we limit transmission to the bare minimum.

In ending the economic measures are welcomed and we again put on record our appreciation for the work being done in this difficult time by the Team at the Department of Health.

Bangkok (Thailand) – March 25, 2020 (travelindex.com) – Thai Airways International Public Company Limited (THAI) announced, “Due to the ongoing global outbreak of COVID-19, several countries in Europe and Asia has intensely increased preventive measures including screening by local Ministries of Public Health and Civil Aviation Organizations as well as national lockdown.

Therefore, THAI has prepared its plans and temporarily suspended its operations on the following flights:

1. Starting on 25 March 2020: Hong Kong, Taipei, Tokyo (Narita and Haneda), Osaka, Nagoya, Seoul, Phnom Penh, Vientiane, Ho Chi Minh, Hanoi, Yangon, Singapore, Jakarta, Denpasar, Kunming, Xiamen, Chengdu, Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Karachi, Kathmandu, Lahore, Dhaka, Islamabad, and Colombo. For domestic flights to Chiang Mai, Phuket, and Krabi will be transferred and operated by THAI Smile.

2. Starting on 27 March 2020: Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, and Perth

3. Starting on 1 April 2020: THAI will cancel most of its flights to Europe which are London, Frankfurt, Paris, Brussels, Copenhagen, Oslo, Moscow and Stockholm

THAI previously suspended flights to Sendai, Sapporo, Fukuoka, Busan, Manila, Kuala Lumpur, Rome, Milan, Vienna, New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Muscat, Dubai, and Auckland.

To facilitate customers, THAI allows passengers holding THAI and THAI Smile code-share flights air tickets, issued before 25 March 2020 with the following date of travel, to convert unused tickets to one-year valid travel voucher without fee and surcharges:

• Asian Routes during 25 March – 31 May 2020

• European, Australian and New Zealand Routes during 1 April – 31 May 2020

Royal Orchid Plus (ROP) members holding award tickets issued to travel during 25 March – 31 May 2020 may fully re-credit mileages or change the travel date without any fee or charge with expired miles extended until 30 September 2020.

Passengers may check flight schedules and make changes to itineraries themselves on www.thaiairways.com website. For ticket adjustments or more information, ROP members can contact THAI Sales Offices or visit www.thaiairways.com/rop.

THAI still operate cargo service in some routes and will operate charter flight if there are stranded passengers or requested by government agencies concerned. The Company will inform passengers accordingly if there is some flight adjustment.”

London (Great Britain) – March 25, 2020 (travelindex.com) – Up to 75 million jobs are at immediate risk in global Travel & Tourism due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC). The alarming figure, based on research from WTTC, shows a punishing Travel & Tourism GDP loss to the world economy of up to US$2.1 trillion in 2020.

COVID job loss update The latest projection of a 50% increase in jobs at risk, in less than two weeks, represents a significant and worrying trend, with an astounding one million jobs being lost every day in the Travel & Tourism sector, due to the sweeping effect of the coronavirus pandemic.

The analysis by WTTC, which represents the global Travel & Tourism private sector, also exposes the depth of the crisis for individual regions. Asia-Pacific is expected to be most heavily impacted with up to 49 million jobs at risk throughout the region, representing a loss of nearly US$800 billion to Travel & Tourism GDP. The latest figures also suggest that in Europe, up to 10 million jobs in Travel & Tourism are at risk, totaling a loss of nearly US$552 billion.

The Americas are also expected to be hit hard by this crisis, with the United States, Canada and Mexico expected to lose up to US$570 billion combined, with nearly seven million jobs in Travel & Tourism at risk. Other countries expected to be hit hard by this crisis include Brazil, the United Kingdom, Italy, Germany, France, Japan, Indonesia and India.

Gloria Guevara, WTTC President & CEO, said: “The number of jobs now at risk in the global Travel & Tourism sector is a staggering 75 million, bringing real and profound worry to millions of families around the world.

“This chilling new figure also represents the collective delay by many governments around the world to react quickly enough to come to the aid of a sector which is the backbone of the global economy.

“If urgent action is not taken within the next few days, the Travel & Tourism sector faces an economic meltdown from which it will struggle to recover and plunge millions of people dependent upon it for their livelihoods into debt. Not only will this have an enormous negative impact on major businesses in the Travel & Tourism sector around the world, the ‘domino effect’ will also result in massive job losses across the entire supply chain, hitting employees and those in self-employment.

“We call on all those in positions of power to help the powerless and enact policies to support and sustain a sector which is a driving force of the global economy and responsible for generating one in five of all new jobs.”

Germany is set to be the most affected country in Europe, with almost 1.6 million jobs at risk, followed by Russia with an estimated 1.1 million in potential job losses. Italy and the UK follow as the third most impacted, with both countries projected to lose up to one million jobs in the Travel & Tourism sector.

Meanwhile, the region which has experienced the least damaging impact from the COVID-19 outbreak is the Middle East. However, it still faces job losses of 1.8 million and a GDP loss of up to US$65 billion to the regional economy.

Travel & Tourism contributes to 10.4% of Global GDP, is directly responsible for generating one in 10 of the world’s jobs, and for eight successive years, has outpaced the growth of the global economy.

Bangkok (Thailand) – March 25, 2020 (travelindex.com) – The World’s 50 Best Restaurants publishes an annual list of the world’s finest restaurants selected by a panel of culinary experts. The restaurants receive their award during an annual awards ceremony.

When Deepak Ohri, the Chief Executive Officer of lebua in Bangkok, the world’s first luxury vertical destination, received an invitation to be included in a list at World’s 50 Best Restaurants he declined.

“There are lots of dining awards, and many of them aren’t credible when it comes to fine dining,” he says. Ohri showed us an invitation from The World’s 50 Best and his reply to the group declining to be included.

After some Michelin starred chefs returned their stars and refused to be included in the red guide, Deepak, for his fine dining restaurants at lebua, is the first to have decline inclusion or any other association with World’s 50 Best Restaurants.

Deepak Ohri is not like most other hotel executives; he is a visionary taking experiential luxury to a higher level by offering exclusive experiences at lebua. If Ohri is not speaking at Harvard Kennedy School or at IIM Bangalore to deliver keynote addresses he is rubbing shoulders with the rich and famous, from Barrack Obama and George Clooney to Tony Blair and David Cameron (see below).

After having faced some criticism in the past, World’s 50 Best Restaurants, in 2019, overhauled its rules to encourage more diversity among the restaurant picks and gender balance among its voting body but is Ohri’s refusal a sign that more changes are needed at World’s 50 Best Restaurants?