Impact of Coronavirus on the Travel Industry
The coronavirus pandemic has led to the downfall of a country in every aspect. Whether it is agriculture, market place, e-commerce, travel industry, manufacturing units, or, in short, the economy as a whole. This harsh outbreak has led the government of every country to implement a lockdown period. Technological advancement brought us closer together by making the travel industry affordable. However, all of it is impacted by the outbreak of the virus, which demands us to stay home. The impact of coronavirus on the travel industry is so deep that it may take years to cover the losses incurred. Gloria Guevara, the CEO of WTTC, said, ‘people travel far and wide making across 1 billion travels all over the world’. Calculate the losses we had during this lockdown period.
Can the losses be recovered? Will people travel frequently even after things get back to normal? The answer is no. Let’s talk about the loss of jobs in the travel industry. The world travel and tourism council have given some distressful figures:
- Global loss of 75 million jobs
- Loss of approx. $2.1 trillion in economy
- British Airways is reportedly to suspend 36,000 Staffers.
- U.S. travel association projected a loss of 4.6 million jobs by May.
- A total loss of $250 billion due to travel restrictions imposed.
The figures are heart-breaking, but this could even be left short to the real scenarios. The impact on the travel industry can’t be specified in numbers. The ratio of losses is much higher than expected. The impact of Coronavirus on the travel industry is greater by six to seven times than the 9/11 attacks, says Roger Dow, the CEO of the U.S. Travel Association. This impact depends on how long the pandemic last and could even increase due to the recent restrictions.
Impact of Coronavirus on Railways
- Shift2Railways fully operational
- Netherland closed boarders
- Staff layoffs in Finland
- Ukraine cancels international trains
- Fewer trains in Norway
- London counts losses
- Czechia cuts domestic traffic
The impact of coronavirus on the travel industry is growing with each passing day,’ said AAR senior vice president, John.T.Gray. For the week that ended on April 4, the total U.S weekly rail traffic was even higher than 429,050 carloads. This is about 15.9% down as compared to last week. The outbreak is having a deep impact on all modes of travel, including flights, ships, railways, roadways, etc.
Conclusion
After analyzing the facts & figures, a result can be obtained. Tourism and the travel industry is the worst hit due to the pandemic. The situation could get back in control if the lockdown imposed were for certain number of days. However, because there aren’t particular dates of lockdown specified, we don’t know how & when things will get back to normal. Loss of jobs, revenue generation, and workload could result in a tough working environment of the travel industry.
