Coronavirus will hit hard this sector even after the choas is over! Let us face reality

As per the current circumstances, it feels the coronavirus pandemic has no plan to leave, and it is going to stay for a long. The total cases of infected people have crossed 2 million mark with more than 150 thousand deaths. People are facing a lot of problems as most of the countries are under complete lockdown, and other countries have restricted outdoor activities strictly. People are panicked, and the nations are warned for terrible economic and human loss.

It is for sure that the world will witness a lot of challenges, and it won’t be the same even after the pandemic is over. People are waiting for the news of vaccine availability to come but the WHO says that we should not expect the vaccine at least for 12 months or even longer. However, some experts speculate that the testing could start on humans by June. The one thing that is scary more than the danger of pandemic is the nuisance of starvation. Both the governments and people are assuming a recession in the future, and organizations such as the World Bank have already stated.

The world might hit the worst recession amid or after coronavirus pandemic. From the UN to the World Bank to WTO and IMF, all have indicated a tremendous economic loss due to the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak. Notably, there is much more to concern. Definitely, the COVID-19 will hit the world inadequately, and most of the countries have already begun planning to counter the effect. The major concerning part of the pandemic is the impact it will have on the tourism industry and on the lives of those who make a living by entertaining tourists. Passive jobs such as tourist guides, translators, restaurant staff, etc. are under the gravest threat. The COVID-19 pandemic will wreck the tourism industry, and the impact will be prolonged.

Countries such as China, France, the USA, Italy, and Spain get a significant amount of money from tourism. France alone attracts more than 80 million tourists annually and creates nearly 3 million jobs in the country. In China, it produces about 28 million jobs and contributes 11 percent to the GDP, whereas in India, the tourism sector supports more than 42 million employment. As per the data by the World Travel and Tourism Council, the pandemic can cause 75 million job loss and $2.1 trillion revenue loss globally. According to the World Economic Forum, even though the outbreak passes away, it would take at least 10 months for the industry to recover. Inevitably, the crunches will impact the industry in the long run.

Now, we must give a thought about those who make a living from tourism not just about the airlines, pilot, and air hostesses, but the people who do odd jobs to feed their families. People who run boat rental shops at beaches, food stalls at tourist spots, tourist guides, travel agents, and so forth are at higher vulnerabilities to get affected by the post-pandemic consequences. The situation of lockdown and COVID-19 both will affect them for a longer period, even after a pandemic is over. The travel restrictions and precautions will be there, but moreover, a lot of people will avoid traveling to other countries for several months or even a year or more.

Now, the government has the responsibility of helping and supporting the travel industry. However, to fight the crisis, the government in some nations has stated stimulus packages to give some relief to the industry, but the loss will be higher than the stimulus provided by the government. The bigger problem is that most of the people won’t be noticed, especially the stallers and who earn a passive income, including tour guides, tour operators, sellers at the tourist spots, and many more. Governments, NGOs, and local bodies must look after them and help them in every possible way. A temporary job or an aid to their existing business will be a great help to them and humanity.

A lot of people, industries, sectors are out of our sights and needed to be taken care of. At present, there is no way to help them, but in the future after the pandemic goes, we can offer our tour guides, waiters, hospitality services some tips, we can say no to bargaining while buying something from locals, we can use your gift vouchers and discount cards when everything settles down.