If international travel continues to be banned, the UK will lose about $ 893 million a day in July. The damage was determined by the World Tourism and Tourism Council (WTDC) in an open letter to Prime Minister Boris Johnson. In all, $ 27.7 billion would not have been raised by the British if the international trip had been effectively postponed until August.
International viewers spend $ 49.7 billion in the UK in 2019 (Fabio Muro / Unsplash)
The sector is at risk of losing another 218,000 jobs if no action is taken, in addition to the 307,000 jobs already suspended in the UK last year. The letter, signed by WTTC members including TUI, Expedia, Meliá Hotels, Silversea Cruises, Iberostar, The Travel Corporation, praised the vaccine’s progress, but urged the government to allow international travel to resume.
“The WTTC survey shows that if international travel does not take place throughout July, the UK will lose an incredible $ 893 million every day, which will seriously delay the economic recovery and its competitiveness,” said WTTC CEO Virginia Messina. “It will be very costly for the country to stop resuming international travel. We can not bear any more delays – we have lost time and money and many more companies are at risk of bankruptcy, which will lead to more job losses,” he said.
“If international travel does not take place throughout July, the UK will lose an incredible US $ 893 million a day, which will seriously delay the economic recovery and its competitiveness,” says the WTTC CEO.
International visitors spent $ 49.7 billion in the UK in 2019, helping to make it the fifth largest economy in the world in terms of GDP for travel and tourism. In 2019, the tourism and tourism sector contributed 10.1% to the country’s GDP and supported 4.3 million jobs, which is 12% of total employment.
The WTTC open letter to Boris proposes four measures
- Resume international travel that allows fully vaccinated citizens to travel freely without isolation. With similar vaccine levels and proven lower infection rates, they can visit countries such as the EU, the United States and Canada through a transparent data-based approach that can help restore travelers’ confidence throughout the trip. நேரம்;
- End the PCR test requirement for travel from Green List countries and replace with a quick test or no test;
- Travelers from countries on the yellow list between travel destinations only need one test because PCR tests are expensive and cumbersome, and their use can prevent people from traveling for business or pleasure;
- Set a reopening date for international travel – to be announced by June 24 and implemented by July 19, in line with the firm conclusion of long-distance operations in the UK.
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