Quarantines and border closures inhibit the reactivation of tourism

WTTC and ALTA organized the virtual seminar “The future of travel and global tourism”, which allowed to evaluate the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic in the sector

The World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) and the Air Transport Association of Latin America and the Caribbean (ALTA), noted that travel quarantines and border closures do not help restore the confidence of tourists, at a time where travel needs to be encouraged.

During the virtual seminar “The Future of Global Travel and Tourism”, organized by the World Travel and Tourism Council and the Air Transport Association of Latin America and the Caribbean, key participants from tourism and aviation shared their perspectives on the effects that the pandemic has generated and the importance of redefining the industry.

Gloria Guevara Manzo, President and CEO of the WTTC, urged governments to consider local blockades rather than closing the borders of an entire nation. “Painting an entire country with the same brush does not benefit anyone at this time,” she said.

She stressed the importance of the approval of internationally recognized health and hygiene measures, which allow the traveler to regain the confidence of returning to consume a product or hire a service.

He explained that the pandemic puts up to 197 million jobs around the world at risk of disappearance, of which 6.1 million correspond to the Latin American and Caribbean region, for which the WTTC proposes four actions for the recovery of tourism: the opening of borders and the removal of barriers; conducting tests to control the pandemic; the adoption of hygiene and sanitation protocols, and finally, government support to workers in the sector and companies.

For her part, José Ricardo Botelho, Director and CEO of the Latin American and Caribbean Air Transport Association (ALTA), explained that the pandemic represented a significant decrease in passenger transportation throughout the region.

He explained that only in the months of April and May, the reduction in air operations was of the order of 95 percent, with great losses for the industry. He said that the recovery of the airline sector could take, on average, between five and six years, in such a way that until 2025 levels similar to those reported during 2019 will be seen in the region.

Therefore, Botelho spoke out for the elimination of travel barriers between countries, without neglecting the measures to control the pandemic in order to build confidence in travelers. In the same way, I highlight the fundamental work that has been carried out with the public and private sectors to achieve coordinated and harmonized protocols throughout the tourism chain.

In 2019, the travel and tourism sector generated 16.9 million jobs, that is, 7.9 percent of the total workforce in Latin America. It also contributed 298.9 trillion dollars of GDP, which represented 8.1 percent for the economy in the region, a growth of 1.6 percent compared to 2018.

Meanwhile, in the Caribbean region, the activity generated 2.8 million jobs, that is, 15.2 percent of the labor force. In addition, it contributed 58.9 trillion dollars of GDP, which represents 13.9 percent for the region’s economy, which translated into an increase of 1.9 percent compared to the previous year.