Around 180,000 jobs could be lost if travel restrictions return, travel council warns
Around 180,000 jobs could be lost across the UK travel and tourism sector this year if travel restrictions are re-imposed this winter.
Data from the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) has revealed that up to 500,000 Brits could see their job at stake if wider measures to stop the spread of Covid-19 – including requiring travellers to have a booster jab – are introduced from 2022.
“The very real prospect of more than 500,000 people losing their jobs across the UK Travel & Tourism sector because of unnecessary travel restrictions is a huge concern to WTTC,” said WTTC’s president and chief executive Julia Simpson.
“We cannot afford to let all the hard-earned progress we’ve made this year, slide back and be reversed. Too many people’s livelihoods are at risk, as well as the continuing economic recovery of the UK.”
The WTT added that if severe travel restrictions come back into force, £5.3bn could be wiped from the sector’s contribution to the economy, losing up to £21.7bn if they were to be in place for most of 2022.