The World Travel
& Tourism Council (WTTC) found that the global travel and tourism industry
supported 272 million jobs on a direct basis during 2020 (down from 334 million
in 2019).
The industry generated $4.67
trillion in total (direct and indirect) global contribution to GDP (gross
domestic product), down from $9.17 trillion in 2019.
Business travel spending was off 61%, while
leisure spending was down 49.4%.
Many airlines
around the world took bankruptcy during 2020, while others received massive
government bailouts.
Unfortunately,
those bailouts may not be anywhere near enough to keep some airlines in
business.
Meanwhile, the entire industry
has curtailed flights and announced massive employee layoffs.
While considering the devastating year that the
travel industry had in 2020, it is worthwhile to look back at 2019, which was a
boom year for virtually all travel sectors.
In most parts of the world, prior to the Coronavirus, hotels and resorts
had been enjoying good to excellent occupancy rates, which enabled them to
raise prices, while many new properties have been built or are under
construction in promising markets.
Business travel had grown substantially in recent years, while leisure
travel had been generally strong worldwide.
Nonetheless, when middle class consumers did take a vacation, it was
generally on a carefully watched budget.
At the same time, affluent travelers were
spending money freely on luxury hotels, resorts and experiences.
Prior to the Coronavirus, businesses were sending growing numbers of employees on trips,
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