UN warns against cost of Covid-19 on global tourism

LONDON, Aug 25 (AN): The coronavirus pandemic could wipe up to $1.2 trillion off the world's tourism industry and cost 100 million jobs globally, but investment in domestic tourism could help mitigate some of this damage, according to the UN's World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO).

In an online briefing on Tuesday attended by Arab News, UNWTO members outlined the disastrous impact the pandemic has already had on international tourism, and the lasting effects it will have on the global tourism industry.

"Tourism accounts for 7 per cent of worldwide trade," said Zoritsa Urosevic, director of the UNWTO's Institutional Relations and Partnerships Department, adding that the pandemic's impact on this sector will be catastrophic. Urosevic said "no nation will be unaffected" by the sector's collapse, but it is likely to impact women, youth and informal workers the most.