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Covid restrictions on travel cost UK economy £148bn and 307,000 jobs

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One of the direct hit industries following the Covid restrictions , obviously, is the leisure Industry. 

This resulted in the loss of a large number of jobs; in the UK, it was from 4.27 million in 2019, to 3.96 million in 2020 – a reduction of 7.2 per cent

The dramatic decline of the UK’s travel and tourism sector has eaten up a staggering chunk of £148billion from the nation’s economy.

Drastic decline 

The annual report from the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), indicates the sector’s contribution to GDP reduction by a gigantic 62.3 per cent from £238bn in 2019 prior to the pandemic outbreak, to just £90bn – a mere 12 months later.

A year of crippling travel restrictions, a host of other restrictions and hotel quarantines, which have brought international travel to a grinding halt, cost  307,000 travel and tourism jobs across the country.

But, WTTC believes the real picture could be significantly worse, if not for government fiscal and liquidity incentives, as well as furlough and job protection schemes. Across all sectors these schemes are estimated to be currently protecting more than 11 million jobs, concealing the true extent of the losses. 

According to latest figures, the government is estimated to have spent more than £46bn on job retention schemes and the cost incur may rise to £80bn by the time the various programs end in October 2021.

Domestic visitors 

According to the report, domestic visitor spending fell by 63.2 per cent due to nationwide lockdowns, while international spending suffered heavily due to stringent travel restrictions, ineffective quarantines and inconsistent government policies resulting in the reduction of 71.6 per cent.

Gloria Guevara, president and chief executive of WTTC, said: “The loss of more than 300,000 travel and tourism jobs across the UK has had a devastating socio-economic impact, leaving huge numbers of people fearing for their future.

“There are grounds for optimism if the UK’s world-leading vaccine rollout continues at pace and travel restrictions are relaxed just before the busy summer season – alongside a clear roadmap for increased mobility. With all these factors in place, WTTC predicts the 300,000 jobs lost in the UK could return by 2022.”

It is obvious, that the UK government could avoid another year of losses, if it support the quick resumption of international travel. 

Measures such as digital health passes like those of  the European Commission’s Digital Green Certificate that display a traveller’s Covid-19 status, would facilitate and ensure safe international travel that is vital to the UK’s economic recovery. 

Need of the hour is to lay a firm foundation for the resurgence of international as well as local travels to regain lost jobs.  This would enable the government to stop some of the supporting Programmes for communities, whose livelihoods dependent on Travel and Tourism industry. 

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