World travel may shrink 25% on coronavirus in 2020, shed 50 mln jobs - WTTC
MADRID, March 13 (Reuters) - The coronavirus epidemic is putting up to 50 million jobs in the global travel and tourism sector at risk, with international travel likely to slump by a quarter this year, the World Travel and Tourism Council projected on Friday.
The coronavirus outbreak "clearly presents a significant threat to the industry as a whole, to those employed within it, and those wishing to continue travelling," it said in a statement.
The equivalent to a loss of three months of global travel in 2020 "could lead to a corresponding reduction in jobs of between 12% and 14%", it said in a statement, also calling on governments to remove or simplify visas wherever possible, cut travel taxes and introduce incentives once the epidemic is under control.
The tourism industry accounts for 10% of the world's GDP and jobs. (Reporting by Andrei Khalip Editing by Ingrid Melander)
