(TAN): The coronavirus pandemic has had a devastating effect on the American tourism industry, a report from the U.S. Travel Association showed.
According to the new data released by the American travel nonprofit, and tourism data analytics company, Tourism Economics, the financial impact the country’s travel sector is currently facing because of the outbreak is nine times worse than the 9/11 attacks – the industry has lost a third of all the jobs in the United States.
The report projected by the end of this month, eight million out of nearly 24 million travel-related jobs for the entire American economy are set to be lost. Last month, the organisation had predicted a loss of 5.9 million jobs by the end of April.
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By the end of 2020, travel spending losses could cross USD 500 billion.
U.S. Travel Association President and Chief Executive Officer Roger Dow said they are requesting further aid and more flexibility on top of the CARES Act as the pressure on the sector is going up.
“The CARES Act was a good start, but the data shows there is still extreme and mounting pain in the American travel industry. We’re appealing for fixes, the addition of more relief, faster rules, and greater flexibility,” he said.
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, passed last month, is a coronavirus response bill worth roughly USD 2 trillion, and aimed at speeding relief across the country’s economy.
Dow also said that a fundamental issue is that the Paycheck Protection Program funds have already been exhausted and immediately needs to be topped up.
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“The relief program needs to fit the crisis, and we’re still learning the magnitude and intricacies of this particular crisis,” Dow added.
Total travel spending last week declined 85% from the first week of March and 87% from the same week in 2019 to USD 2.9 billion, as per data from another analysis by Tourism Economics.
Data from a study by marketing agency MMGY Travel Intelligence showed 90% of travellers surveyed had either travel or travel-related activity planned before the virus outbreak, 80% of whom have cancelled or deferred those plans.
